In a recent study, it was revealed that the US has the longest 'healthspan-lifespan gap' among more than 180 countries. Over all, the global life expectancy has seen an increase by 6.5 years, and hit an average of 72.5 among the 183 members of the World Health Organization. This data is reported in the journal JAMA Network Open. However, during the same period, the estimate for how long a person could live free of diseases or disability increased only by 5.4 years, with an average of 63.3 years among the WHO countries. This has led to a 13% increase in the global gap between lifespan and healthspan, which is reflected by "the extent of lifespan burdened by disease". The gap is from 8.5 years in 2000 to 9.6 years in 2019, states the study.Dr Andre Terzic, the co-author of the study and the Marriot family director of comprehensive cardiac regenerative medicine for the Mayo Clinic's Center for Regenerative Biotherapeutics, said, "On one hand we celebrate the fact that humanity lives longer. Whether you’re in North America or in the rest of the world, you look into the last century and it’s amazing how mankind lives longer and continues to live longer."“Unfortunately, the gains in life expectancy are not matched with equivalent gains in health life expectancy," explains the doctor.How healthy is US?Among all the WHO countries, US had the greatest disparity between life expectancy and years lived without disease or disability. On an average, the life expectancy in the US rose from 79.2 years to 80.7 years in women and for men, it went from 74.1 years to 76.3 years between 2000 and 2019. Which means, on an average, a person living in the US' total life expectancy would be 78.5 years, whereas the healthy life expectancy is only at 66.1 years. The gap between lifespan and healthspan has therefor increased from 10.9 years earlier to 12.4 years, now. This has led to a disparity of 29%, larger than the global average, which is at 13%. “That’s a significant departure of what could be expected for a country with such a significant expansion of life expectancy,” Terzic says. Another point of concern is that the study also showed that women in US exhibited a 2.6-year higher healthspan-lifespan gap than men, increasing from 12.2 to 13.7 years or 32% beyond the global mean for women.As per Terzic, the widening gap between healthspan and lifespan in the US is due to the severe burden of chronic diseases, especially musculoskeletal conditions, mental health and substance use disorders.ALSO READ: These Are The 5 Best And Worst US States For Mental Health CareIn a different study conducted by the Commonwealth Fund that analyzed the 11 high-income nations found that the US had the highest percentage of adults who reported receiving mental health diagnosis such as anxiety or depression at 23%. This was based on a 2016 survey data. Of the people survey, it was also found that 26% of US adults said they had experienced emotional distress, and thus it has marked it as the second-highest rate among countries.
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