Quality over quantity

WITH reference to Star2’s articles on senior citizens, there is no doubt that in modern times, life expectancy has substantially improved. Not only the number of years lived should be taken into account, but also the quality of life.

High life expectancy is not meaningful if one is in a state of ill health for a period of time before one dies. Therefore, many countries have come up with a new index called health-adjusted life expectancy. It is the number of years in full health that an individual can expect to live (given the current environmental and mortality conditions) without the need for a caregiver.