Avoiding the grave isn鈥檛 everything (Image: Amy Eckert/Getty)
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THE world is sick. About 95 per cent of people have at least one health complaint, with a third of us having more than five.
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Becoming better at avoiding early death means we spend longer being susceptible to ill health that results from our bodies wearing out. 鈥淭he focus of health has been on tackling causes of death, rather than disability,鈥� says Theo Vos of the University of Washington in Seattle, one of the authors of a study evaluating how patterns of disease and ill health have changed in 188 countries between 1990 and 2013.
鈥淭he focus of health has been on tackling the causes of death, rather than disability鈥�
The number of years of healthy life lost globally rose from 537.6 million in 1990 to 764.8 million in 2013, a rise of 43 per cent. The authors attribute this to population growth and ageing.
The leading causes were lower-back pain and depression, which were among the top 10 causes of lost years of health in all 188 countries. Other common woes include tooth cavities, tension-type headaches, iron-deficiency anaemia, hearing loss, genital herpes and migraine (The Lancet, ).
Vos is confident, however, that disabilities of ageing are gradually being managed better. 鈥淎t each age over time, we see small improvements,鈥� he says.
But not everyone is upbeat. Rifat Atun of Harvard University says that a complete upheaval in health systems is needed, with resources shifted away from treating disease in hospitals to disease prevention programmes in the community.
鈥淒on鈥檛 wait for illness, invest in the maintenance of health,鈥� says Atun, the author of an accompanying commentary (). 鈥淲e can鈥檛 manage these chronic conditions in hospitals, so there needs to be an emphasis on maintaining good health, preventing disease and slowing progression of disease when it does happen,鈥� he says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no choice: it has to happen.鈥�
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淥ld but unhealthy鈥�
