Singapore’s Morbidity Gap Widens 26.6% as Lifespan Gains Outrun Healthy Years
Updated
Updated · SciTechDaily · Jul 27
Singapore’s Morbidity Gap Widens 26.6% as Lifespan Gains Outrun Healthy Years
3 articles · Updated · SciTechDaily · Jul 27
Summary
Singapore remained the global leader in both life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in 2023, yet its morbidity gap still widened by about 2.35 years to reflect more time lived with illness or disability.
The IHME-NUS analysis of 204 countries found lifespan gains outpaced healthspan gains in 203 of them; globally, life expectancy rose to 73.8 years while healthy life expectancy reached 63.1, leaving a 10.7-year gap.
Women showed the sharpest burden in Singapore: life expectancy reached 87.5 years versus 83.1 for men, but women were expected to spend 12.1 years in poor health compared with 10.4 for men.
musculoskeletal disorders, mental disorders, injuries, sense-organ diseases and cardiovascular disease drove Singapore’s gap, with high fasting plasma glucose, high BMI, occupational risks, high blood pressure and diet the top risk factors.
The findings challenge the idea that illness is being compressed into the final years of life and shift Singapore’s policy focus from extending survival to preventing chronic disease, disability and functional decline.