Issue four of the Longevity Bulletin is now available for members to download
Authored by Carol Jagger, AXA professor of epidemiology of ageing at the Institute for Ageing and Health, Newcastle University, the latest issue looks at the data supporting the assertion that we are all living longer but questions how healthy we are during those extra years.
In the past, longer life was generally driven by better health, however data increasingly highlights that this does not necessarily equate to a healthier life at older ages.
Healthy life expectancy was first proposed as a measure to assess whether the extra years of life that people had were spent in good or poor health. During the past decade, work on healthy life expectancies has flourished and the latest issue of the longevity bulletin examines the various measures that are used in this field.
The focus article in the Bulletin introduces the concept of health expectancy and how, alongside life expectancy, it can determine whether trends fit the scenario of compression or expansion of morbidity.
The most recent sub-national healthy life expectancy estimates for both England and Wales and for European countries are used as examples.
Actuaries are playing a vital role in developing policy, regulation, products and services for individuals' health care. As our dementia event with the International Longevity Centre (ILC-UK) on 28 November and David Cameron's 'war on dementia' have highlighted, the trends in healthy life expectancy are cause for serious social and political concern. The latest issue of the Longevity Bulletin is designed to act as a helpful companion to members and other interested parties who would like to learn more.
Past issues of the Longevity Bulletin can still be viewed on our website at bit.ly/tLX9bH