Washington: In US, people spend more years living with diseases than individuals in most other countries, according to a new study by the American Medical Association.
The findings reveal that Americans experience an average of 12.4 years burdened by illness, driven primarily by mental health disorders, substance-use issues, and musculoskeletal conditions.
The study highlights a pronounced disparity between genders, with women in the United States enduring a 2.6-year longer healthspan-lifespan gap- representing years spent in poor health when compared to men.
Women’s gap increased to 13.7 years, 32 percent higher than the global average for females.
Overall, the healthspan-lifespan gap in the US has grown from 10.9 years in 2000 to 12.4 years in 2024, reflecting a 29 percent larger gap than the global mean. While this issue is not unique to the US, the global gap has widened more modestly, from 8.5 years in 2000 to 9.6 years in 2024—a 13 percent rise.
Among developed nations, Australia (12.1 years), New Zealand (11.8 years), the UK and Northern Ireland (11.3 years), and Norway (11.2 years) follow the US in having the largest healthspan-lifespan gaps.
Conversely, the smallest gaps were observed in Lesotho (6.5 years), the Central African Republic (6.7 years), Somalia and Kiribati (6.8 years), and Micronesia (7 years).
The study notes that while Americans live longer, the proportion of healthy years does not keep pace. In the US, life expectancy rose from 79.2 to 80.7 years for women and from 74.1 to 76.3 years for men between 2000 and 2024. However, health-adjusted life expectancy has not increased proportionally, mirroring global trends.
Study co-authors Armin Garmany and Andre Terzic emphasised the significance of the findings that, “These results underscore that around the world, while people live longer, they live a greater number of years burdened by disease.”
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