Examination of the Causes and Mechanisms of the Increase in Disability-Free Life Expectancy

Abstract

From 1981 to 1991, life expectancy at birth in France increased by 2.5 years. Health survey data show that during this 10-year period, disability-free life expectancy increased significantly by 3.0 years in males and 2.6 years in females. Consequently, the proportion of years lived without disability within life expectancy has increased. For example, in males it increased from 86.4% to 87.5% in this time period. These observations show that, contrary to the frequent predictions of "pandemia" of disabilities or expansion of morbidity, the major increase in life expectancy in France over the past 10 years has been accompanied by a compression of morbidity. In the present study, the authors explore the causes and mechanisms of this positive development.