We're Getting Older - But Are We As Healthy?

Thanks to a global rise in life expectancy humans are now living for longer than ever. As a result, "centenarians" are now the UK's fastest growing age group. But despite advances in modern medicine the latest research suggests that senior citizens are suffering from a decline in overall health.

Life expectancy outperforming health

According to a report penned by British thinktank the International Longevity Centre, life expectancy is increasing but the number of "healthy" years enjoyed post-retirement is failing to keep up. This means that the nation could be facing a major healthcare and funding crisis. Furthermore, there are drastic variations across the country which has raised concerns over the link between social status and health inequality.

“We need to start having very frank discussions about what social care is going to look like, what healthcare is going to look like, what taxation is going to look like, what labour and immigration policies are going look like – and all of this needs to be set against the context of an ageing society,” muses Dean Hochlaf, a co-author of the report.

The link between social status and life expectancy

As well as questioning how the UK is going to fund its ageing population, the report also flags the fact that residential status has serious sway on the number of healthy years senior citizens enjoy. For example, while 65-year-olds in the London borough of Tower Hamlets can expect just 6.5 years of healthy life expectancy, their counterparts living in affluent neighbourhoods like Richmond enjoy around 14.5 years.

“Obviously it is a great social achievement that we have managed to increase life expectancy, but healthy life expectancy is so crucial for ensuring that there is a better quality of life for older adults,” comments Hochlaf. “Initiatives, for example, to extend the working life hinge on this idea that we have a healthier older population.”

Experts flag "unequal society"

Experts agree, with Debora Price, professor of social gerontology at the University of Manchester warning that inequalities are on the rise.

“We know that many older people live with very low incomes, poor housing, long-standing disabilities, high risks of social isolation and loneliness, and little power to change things,” she says. “This is very starkly shown in the report by the differences by local authority … these inequalities go across the life-course and are reflecting a really unequal society at all ages.”

With the national centenarian population on the rise demand for aged care is higher than ever. Want to know more about the latest healthcare technology? Spotlighting sterilising chambers, 'Autoclave Wrap – No Jacket Required' highlights the benefits of next generation RSC models.