Living longer, but in better or worse health? (2020)

This policy brief in the Observatory’s Economics of Healthy and Active Ageing series explores available information on the health and disability of older people in Europe and how it relates to increases in life expectancy. It considers the main theories on health and ageing, explores the latest evidence on health and disability measures, and considers policy options to support healthy and active ageing.

The policy brief argues that the health of older people is best captured by measures of disability or functional impairment. Studies using such measures have found different trends in different countries, with vast differences in the health of older people across and within countries. One overarching finding is that later cohorts of older people have much better cognitive functioning than earlier cohorts.

The policy brief concludes that health systems can be important contributors to increases in life expectancies, decreases in severe disability, and better coping and functioning with chronic disease.