Distribution of the compression and expansion of morbidity in 194 countries and territories, 1990-2016: The role of income inequality.

Studies on detailed types of health changes and the associations between the types and income inequality are inadequate. This study analyses the global distribution of the compression and expansion of morbidity in 194 countries and territories between 1990 and 2016, and investigates the role of income inequality in the distribution. This study shows that all seven types of health changes coexist, despite being distributed unevenly. The relative expansion of morbidity with increased or constant life expectancy (Type 6, 54.48%) is the most popular type, followed by the relative compression of morbidity with increased or constant life expectancy (Type 3, 30.71%). Income distribution within a society matters for health changes. Societies with greater income inequality tend to have Type 6, a worse scenario of health changes. Measures to reduce income inequality or mitigate its adverse effects will contribute to the relative compression of morbidity with increased or constant life expectancy.

Living longer but not necessarily healthier: The joint progress of health and mortality in the working-age population of England.

Despite improvements in life expectancy, there is uncertainty on whether the increase in years of healthy life expectancy has kept pace. In this paper we explore whether there is empirical support for the expansion of morbidity hypothesis in the population aged 25-64 living in England. Nationally representative cohorts born between 1945 and 1980 are constructed from repeated annual cross-sections of the Health Survey for England, 1991-2014. Later-born cohorts at a given age have the same or higher prevalence of self-reported bad general health and long-term illness, self-reported high blood pressure (in men), self-reported and objectively-measured diabetes, circulatory illnesses, clinical hypertension, and overweight BMI. We also find that healthy life expectancies (in the sense of absence of each of these problems) at age 25 have increased at a slower pace than life expectancy between 1993 and 2013. Our findings lend support to the expansion of morbidity hypothesis and point to increased future demand for specific healthcare services at younger ages.

[Compression or expansion of morbidity in outpatient healthcare? : Generation 65plus in 2007 and 2014]. / Kompression oder Expansion der Morbidität in der ambulanten Versorgung? : Die Generation 65plus in 2007 und 2014.

BACKGROUND: The ageing population raises the question whether there is a compression or expansion of morbidity. OBJECTIVE: This study examined the development of morbidity and the associated outpatient volume of services in outpatient healthcare. MATERIAL AND METHODS: With a nationwide sample of statutory health insurance patients, the development of the documented morbidity and outpatient volume of services of the generation 65plus was empirically examined by a retrospective, cohort-specific study based on outpatient claims data covering the years 2007 and 2014. RESULTS: In 2014 the proportion of multimorbid patients was increased compared to chronically ill patients, other users and non-users. A subgroup analysis showed declining incidences for nearly all age and gender groups. In total, the average outpatient volume of services per patient increased, which is primarily attributable to increasing care of multimorbid and deceased patients. CONCLUSION: High life expectancy leads to a susceptibility for chronic diseases and multimorbidity, which indicates an expansion of morbidity in outpatient care. The resulting increased need for outpatient care should be covered with specific healthcare concepts for chronically ill and multimorbid patients. Declining incidences are a positive indication to reinforce health-promoting measures for the generation 65plus. To develop specific healthcare offers for a heterogeneous generation 65plus, a differentiated analysis for example by socioeconomic status and disease patterns is needed.

Change in life expectancy with type 2 diabetes: a study using claims data from lower Saxony, Germany.

BACKGROUND: This study estimates life expectancy with and without type 2 diabetes for individuals in Lower Saxony, Germany in order to detect a trend in population health. METHODS: Morbidity and mortality data derived from German administrative claims data (statutory health insurance, AOK Niedersachsen, N = 2,900,065) were used covering 10 years from 2005 to 2014. Life table analysis was applied for calculating life expectancy, life expectancy free of type 2 diabetes, life expectancy with type 2 diabetes, and the proportion of life expectancy free of diabetes to total life expectancy using the Sullivan method. RESULTS: The total life expectancy increase is stronger in men than in women: At the age of 20, total life expectancy was 55.0 years in 2005 and 56.3 years in 2014 for men, whereas it was 61.7 years in 2005 and 62.5 years in 2014 for women. Decreases in life expectancy without type 2 diabetes were more pronounced in women than in men. Accordingly, life expectancy with type 2 diabetes increased in both women and in men. The proportion of life expectancy without diabetes to total life expectancy decreased, indicating a similar development in both. For example, at the age of 60, the proportion of life expectancy without diabetes to total life expectancy decreased from 0.75 in 2005 to 0.66 in 2014 for men, while it decreased from 0.77 in 2005 to 0.70 in 2014 for women. CONCLUSIONS: Against the background of increasing total life expectancy, the time spent in morbidity increased for the case of type 2 diabetes in Lower Saxony, Germany.

Inequality in hospitalization due to non-communicable diseases in Sweden: Age-cohort analysis of the Uppsala Birth Cohort Multigenerational Study.

We aimed to investigate cohort differences in age trajectories of hospitalization due to non-communicable conditions, and if these varied by paternal socioeconomic position. We used the Uppsala Birth Cohort Multigenerational Study-including virtually complete information on medical diagnoses. Our sample constituted 28,448 individuals (103,262 observations). The outcome was five-year prevalence of hospitalization due to major non-communicable conditions in 1989-2008. The exposures were age (19-91), year-of-birth (1915-1929; 1938-1972), gender (man vs woman), and parental socioeconomic position (low, medium, and high). We used multilevel logit models to examine associations between exposures and the hospitalization outcome. Younger cohorts had a higher prevalence of hospitalization at overlapping ages than those born earlier, with inter-cohort differences emerging from early-adulthood and increasing with age. For instance, at age 40 predicted probability of hospitalization increased across birth-cohorts-from 1.2% (born in 1948-52) to 2.0% (born in 1963-67)-whereas at age 50 it was 2.9% for those born in 1938-42 compared with 4.6% among participants born in 1953-57. Those with medium and low socioeconomic position had 13.0% and 20.0% higher odds of experiencing hospitalization during the observation period, respectively-when age, year-of-birth and gender were accounted for. We found that no progress was made in reducing the socioeconomic inequalities in hospitalization across cohorts born between 1915 and 1972. Hence, more effective policies and interventions are needed to reduce the overall burden of morbidity-particularly among the most vulnerable.

Self-Rated Healthy Life Expectancy Changes in Jiangxi Province of China by Gender and Urban-Rural Differences, 2013-2018.

Background: Globalization has brought about rapid economic and technological development, and life expectancy (LE) is constantly increasing. However, it is not clear whether an increase in LE will result in an increase in healthy life expectancy (HLE). This study evaluates trends in the self-rated healthy life expectancy (SRHLE) of residents aged 15 and older in Jiangxi Province of China from 2013 to 2018 and analyzes gender differences and urban-rural differences. This study provides a basis for the formulation of relevant public health policies. Methods: Based on two National Health Services Survey databases of Jiangxi in 2013 and 2018 as well as infant mortality rates and under-5 mortality rates from the Health Commission of Jiangxi, the Sullivan method was used to calculate SRHLE. The changes in SRHLE were decomposed into health and mortality effects using the decomposition method. Results: SRHLE decreased from 56.55 to 55.54 years and from 60.00 to 57.87 years for men and women aged 15 from 2013 to 2018, respectively. The SRHLE of women aged 15 was 3.45 and 2.34 years longer than that of men in 2013 and 2018, respectively. The SRHLE of urban men aged 15 was 2.9 and 4.46 years longer than that of rural men in 2013 and 2018, respectively, and that of urban women aged 15 was 3.28 and 5.57 years longer than that of rural women. Conclusions: The decreased SRHLE indicated that the self-rated health (SRH) status of residents in Jiangxi has worsened, and it provided evidence for the expansion of morbidity, mainly due to the increased prevalence of chronic diseases and the improvement in residents' health awareness. Policy efforts are necessary to control the increased morbidity of chronic diseases and reduce gender and urban-rural differences in the quantity and quality of years lived.