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People are living longer, but most of their lives are spent in poor health
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The global gap in morbidity, or years spent in ill health, increased by nearly two years between 1990 and 2023.
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In the United States, the longest gap is an average of 14 years
THURSDAY, July 23, 2026 (NewsDay News) – People around the world are living longer than ever before, but many of those extra years are spent battling poor health, a new study suggests.
Researchers reported on July 21 that the global disease gap — the difference between overall life expectancy and years of healthy life — has widened by nearly two years per generation, rising from 8.8 years in 1990 to 10.7 years in 2023. Lancet Public Health.
What’s worse is that this poor health is not prevalent in the later years of life throughout the adult lifespan, which suggests that people spend more years with illness and disability, the researchers found.
“Our findings suggest that future advances in population health will come not just from helping people live longer, but from helping them live healthier lives,” said the senior researcher. Dr. Christopher Murraydirector of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine.
“Progress in healthy aging must be measured not just in life expectancy, but in health expectancy, with greater investment in prevention, disease management and chronic care to reduce years spent in poor health,” Murray said in a news release.
For the study, researchers looked at trends in healthy aging from 1990 to 2023, tracking changes in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy.
The study showed that the total life expectancy during this period increased from 65 to 74 years.
Healthy life expectancy has also increased, but not as fast, from about 56 years in 1990 to 63 years in 2023.
The United States had the largest national gap in morbidity rates, with an average of 14 years spent in poor health, followed by Australia with 13.9 years and Canada with 13.7 years.
But the pattern has been consistent around the world, with people everywhere increasing both in longevity and in the number of years they struggle with illness or disability.
High-income countries had the largest disease gap on average at about 13 years, while sub-Saharan Africa had the smallest at nine years.
Across all regions, women consistently lived longer than men, but spent more years in poor health. The average disease interval for women is about 12 years, compared to just over 9 years for men.
“Women live longer than men almost everywhere in the world, but they also spend more years in poor health,” said the co-author. Catherine BisignanoIHME senior science writer, said in a news release.
Back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders were the main causes of disease interval, followed by mental disorders like depression and anxietysaid the researchers. Other drivers suffer from age-related hearing loss. falls and sudden injuries, and chronic diseases.
Many years of poor health were associated with preventable or controllable risk factors, including high blood sugar, obesity weightmalnutrition and tobacco use.
“Improving healthy aging requires a greater focus on the conditions and risk factors associated with living with disability for many years,” Bisignano said. “Addressing this earlier through prevention and better long-term care can have significant social, health and economic impacts.”
More information
Has Harvard Medical School lifestyle strategies for a healthy and long life.
Source: Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, news release, July 21, 2026
What does this mean for you?
People are living longer, but most of their lives are spent in poor health.
