Healthspan vs. Lifespan: Living Longer Isn't Enough, Let's Live Better!
Turning the tables on ageing and embracing quality over quantity in our golden years
Great news! We're living longer than ever, thanks to modern medicine, better nutrition, and improved sanitation. However, while enjoying more candles on our birthday cakes is certainly a cause for celebration, we must ask ourselves: are we merely surviving or actually thriving? This article provides you with the opportunity to explore the concept of healthspan – the part of our lives spent in good health, free from chronic diseases or disabilities. We will uncover why it's high time we put healthspan in the spotlight, and discuss how this shift could revolutionise healthcare.
Lifespan: It's Not Just About the Numbers - A Deeper Look
Life is often quantified in terms of years, our lifespan. This focus on the number of years lived has been encouraged by significant advancements in medical science and public health, which have considerably increased average human lifespans across the globe (Christensen et al., 2009). However, this narrative doesn't fully capture the complexity of our existence.
Focusing solely on lifespan overlooks the quality of those years lived. A long life, while certainly a testament to human resilience and scientific progress, doesn't necessarily equate to a life filled with vitality, happiness, or even good health. The number of years we live doesn't tell us about the experiences we've had, the memories we've created, or the overall health we've enjoyed during those years.
As our lifespans extend, we find ourselves grappling with an unfortunate reality - an increase in chronic diseases and disabilities. These unwanted intruders often accompany our 'life parties', casting a shadow over the celebrations of increased longevity. Indeed, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) - including heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and chronic respiratory diseases - account for a staggering 71% of global deaths (WHO, 2021).
These noncommunicable diseases not only shorten our lives but also diminish our quality of life. They can lead to long-term suffering, decrease our ability to function, and impose a significant burden on our loved ones. The prevalence of these diseases also underscores the point that longer life does not automatically translate into a healthier or happier life. We can live many years with chronic disease and disability, making our increased lifespan a mixed blessing (Crimmins & Beltrán-Sánchez, 2011).
Hence, while it's essential to celebrate the progress we've made in increasing lifespan, it's equally crucial to acknowledge that the number of years we live is only a part of the story. It's not just about the years in our life, but also about the life in our years. This is where the concept of 'healthspan' - the period of our lives spent in good health, free from chronic diseases or disabilities - comes into play, and why it's increasingly gaining attention in discussions about ageing and health.
Healthspan: The Star of the Show
Healthspan enters the conversation as the uncelebrated protagonist in the narrative of longevity. It offers a refreshing perspective that shifts the focus from merely prolonging life to accentuating the importance of an active, fulfilling, and disease-free existence (Fries, 2005). Rather than solely quantifying the years we amass, healthspan delves deeper, highlighting the worth of those years in terms of vibrancy, productivity, and overall well-being.
Unlike lifespan, which is simply a measure of the number of years lived, healthspan gives weight to the value of our years. It underscores the importance of living not just a long life, but a long and healthy life. The emphasis here is on health – a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, according to the World Health Organization.
The research suggested (a study by Harvard University) that adopting a healthier lifestyle – one that includes regular physical activity, a balanced diet, moderate alcohol consumption, and refraining from smoking – could add up to a decade of disease-free living (Li et al., 2020). This is not just about adding years to life, but also about adding life to years. It's about enhancing the quality of life and maintaining independence and functionality as we age.
Moreover, the benefits of promoting healthspan extend beyond individual well-being. A longer healthspan can lead to substantial reductions in healthcare costs (Stenholm et al., 2017). As people enjoy more years of good health, they require fewer medical interventions, leading to a reduction in hospitalizations and associated costs.
This implies a ripple effect on our healthcare system and society at large. With less burden on healthcare resources, more funds could potentially be redirected towards preventive measures and health promotion activities. This could result in a virtuous cycle of improved health outcomes, reduced healthcare spending, and a healthier and happier population.
Hence, healthspan truly deserves a standing ovation. Its focus on quality of life rather than mere survival, its potential to add disease-free years to life, and its significant implications for healthcare sustainability make it a star player in the game of longevity. It's high time we recognize and prioritise healthspan as an essential metric of health and longevity.
Healthspan: A Game-Changer for Healthcare
Putting healthspan centre stage could transform healthcare in countless ways. By moving away from a disease treatment-centric approach, healthcare providers and policymakers can embrace a more comprehensive strategy that targets the underlying causes of poor health (Fries, 2005).
Key aspects of this transformative shift might include:
Prevention is better than cure: Encouraging people to adopt healthier lifestyles and focusing on early detection and treatment can lead to better health outcomes and lower healthcare costs (Li et al., 2020). This may involve promoting regular physical activity, balanced nutrition, and mental wellbeing, while also prioritising preventive screenings and early intervention programs.
Collaborative Healthcare: Implementing a coordinated approach to healthcare can more effectively address the multifaceted needs of patients with chronic conditions, ultimately enhancing their quality of life (Bodenheimer et al., 2009). This collaboration can extend across different healthcare disciplines and specialties, creating an integrated network of care that supports patients' physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing.
Research-Driven Innovations: Pouring more funding into research can lead to groundbreaking therapies and interventions that extend healthspan (Fries, 2005). This may involve funding studies exploring the impact of genetics, environment, and lifestyle on healthspan, as well as supporting the development of novel treatments and technologies that promote healthy ageing.
Conclusion
Emphasising healthspan propels the healthcare industry towards a transformative shift that amplifies not only the length of our lives but also the richness of our experience, promoting a life of thriving over mere survival. While the prospect of a longer life is indeed enticing, it's crucial that we don't lose sight of the importance of the quality of these extended years. By redirecting our focus from simply prolonging life to actively improving its quality, we can fundamentally reshape the healthcare landscape and redefine our perception of ageing. Let's seize this opportunity to cast healthspan in the leading role it truly deserves.
Opinion
While the strides we have made in extending our lifespan through advances in medicine and healthcare are undeniably impressive, they tend to overshadow an equally important aspect – the healthspan, a relatively unsung hero in the longevity narrative. It emphasises the need for those additional years to be filled with vitality, functionality, and an overall sense of well-being, free from debilitating chronic diseases. This aspect resonates with me deeply as it challenges us to redefine the way we view ageing. It shifts the focus from mere survival to thriving, from passive ageing to active, enjoyable living.
By putting healthspan at the forefront, we could revolutionise healthcare, adopting a more holistic and preventative approach that prioritises quality of life. This paradigm shift could mean more emphasis on lifestyle changes, early detection, and innovative treatments that not only add years to our life but also life to our years.
In my opinion, this healthspan-oriented approach is not just desirable, it's vital. The prospect of living longer loses its appeal if those extra years are marred by poor health and diminished quality of life. We should strive to ensure that our golden years are truly golden – filled with vitality, joy, and fulfilment.
References
Bodenheimer, T., Chen, E., & Bennett, H. D. (2009). Confronting the growing burden of chronic disease: can the U.S. health care workforce do the job? Health Affairs, 28(1), 64-74.
Christensen, K., Doblhammer, G., Rau, R., & Vaupel, J. W. (2009). Ageing populations: the challenges ahead. The Lancet, 374(9696), 1196-1208.
Crimmins, E. M., & Beltrán-Sánchez, H. (2011). Mortality and morbidity trends: is there compression of morbidity? The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 66(1), 75-86.
Fries, J. F. (2005). The compression of morbidity. The Milbank Quarterly, 83(4), 801-823.
Li, Y., Schoufour, J., Wang, D. D., Dhana, K., Pan, A., Liu, X., Song, M., Liu, G., Shin, H. J., Sun, Q., Al-Shaar, L., Wang, M., Rimm, E. B., Hertzmark, E., Stampfer, M. J., Willett, W. C., Franco, O. H., & Hu, F. B. (2020). Healthy lifestyle and life expectancy free of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes: prospective cohort study. BMJ, 368, l6669.
Li, Y., Schoufour, J., Wang, D. D., Dhana, K., Pan, A., Liu, X., Song, M., Liu, G., Shin, H. J., Sun, Q., Al-Shaar, L., Wang, M., Rimm, E. B., Hertzmark, E., Stampfer, M. J., Willett, W. C., Franco, O. H., & Hu, F. B. (2020). Healthy lifestyle and life expectancy free of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes: prospective cohort study. BMJ, 368, l6669.
Stenholm, S., Head, J., Kivimäki, M., Kawachi, I., Aalto, V., Zins, M., Goldberg, M., Zaninotto, P., Magnuson Hanson, L., Westerlund, H., & Vahtera, J. (2017). Smoking, physical inactivity and obesity as predictors of healthy and disease-free life expectancy between ages 50 and 75: a multicohort study. International Journal of Epidemiology, 46(4), 1265-1275.
World Health Organization. (2021). Noncommunicable diseases. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/noncommunicable-diseases