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In most developed countries, life expectancy has been increasing at the rate of about 2 years every decade, but studies on the quality of those additional years have yielded inconsistent results. In 1991 and 2011, researchers assessed >7500 English elders (age, ≥65) on self-perceived health, ability to complete activities of daily living, and cognitive function. Age-related health expectancies were calculated for both cohorts.
Between surveys, average life expectancy at age 65 rose by 4.5 years in men and 3.6 years in women; gains in expected years without cognitive impairment were 4.2 in men and 4.4 in women (in women, greater than the increase in life expectancy). Expected years with good-to-excellent self-perceived health increased by 3.8…