Do Longer Lives Mean Better Health in Spain? Recent Trends in Disease-Free Life Expectancy at Age 65 Years

Pilar Zueras , Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) - University of Essex
Elisenda Rentería, Centre d'Estudis Demogràfics

Life expectancy in Spain is among the highest in the world with 80.4 years for men and 85.7 years for women in 2017. Nevertheless, we don´t know if the postponement of deaths has been followed by improvements in health conditions in older ages. Studies on this issue in Spain show a stable trend in years lived in ill health in the past. In this paper we examine changes between 2012 and 2017 in life expectancy with and without diseases, for men and women aged 65+ in Spain and regions, as the regions have competences on health planning, public health and healthcare, allowing us to see differences in their response to the 2008 financial crisis that caused government cuts in health services. Preliminary results for Spain show an increase in the number of years lived with almost all diseases and risk factors explored here, although it has been different for each disease.

See extended abstract

 Presented in Session 82. Healthy Life Expectancies II