Active life expectancy.

This study was designed to demonstrate the feasibility of forecasting functional health for the elderly. Using life-table techniques, we analyzed the expected remaining years of functional well-being, in terms of the activities of daily living, for noninstitutionalized elderly people living in Massachusetts in 1974. The expected years, or active life expectancy, showed a decrease, from 10 years for those aged 65 to 70 years to 2.9 for those 85 or older. Active life expectancy was shorter for the poor than for others, and women had a longer average duration of expected dependence than men. The measure of active life expectancy provides important information about health at a given population level, in terms other than death. This information can be used for actuarial purposes in planning and policy making. It is also useful in identifying high-risk populations for which preventive health care and medical care can compress morbidity during the last years of life.

• Publication year

  1983

• Venue

  New England Journal of Medicine

• Publication date

  1983-11-17

• Fields of study

  Medicine

• Identifiers
  DOI 10.1056/NEJM198311173092005PMID 6633571
• External record

  Open on Semantic Scholar

• Source metadata

  Semantic Scholar, PubMed

• No claims are published for this paper.

• No concepts are published for this paper.

• The continued vitality of vital statistics.

  1982cited by this paper
• Assessing the Elderly: A Practical Guide to Measurement

  1981cited by this paper
• Chronic disease, function and the quality of care.

  1981cited by this paper
• Aging, natural death, and the compression of morbidity.

  1980cited by this paper
• Effects and Costs of Day-Care Services for the Chronically Ill: A Randomized Experiment

  1980cited by this paper
• The measurement of long-term care needs and impact.

  1979cited by this paper
• A Measure of Primary Sociobiological Functions

  1976cited by this paper
• Constructing increment-decrement life tables

  1975cited by this paper
• Social consequences of physical impairment in an aging population.

  1969cited by this paper
• A follow-up study of the Commission on Chronic Illness morbidity survey in Baltimore. I. Tracing a large population sample over time.

  1967cited by this paper
• Life Table Analysis of Prime Time Programs on a Television Network

  1967cited by this paper
• A LIFE TABLE METHOD FOR STUDYING RECURRENT EPISODES OF ILLNESS OR CARE.

  1964cited by this paper
• APPLICATION OF A LIFE TABLE ANALYSIS IN A PROSPECTIVE STUDY OF DEGENERATIVE CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE.

  1964cited by this paper
• Illustrative Tables of School Life

  1963cited by this paper
• The versatility of the life table.

  1957cited by this paper
• Life Tables for Natural Populations of Animals

  1947cited by this paper

• Critical Illness, Major Surgery, and Other Hospitalizations and Active and Disabled Life Expectancy

  2025cites this paper
• Participation in community gathering places and loss of independence among older adults with and without mild disability in Habikino City, Japan: A four-year longitudinal study.

  2025cites this paper
• Adherence to a planetary health diet, diet-related greenhouse gas emissions, functional disability, and mortality in older adults.

  2025cites this paper
• A Randomized Trial of Nutrition and Exercise Treatment in Patients With Pancreatic and Non‐Small Cell Lung Cancer (NEXTAC‐TWO)

  2025cites this paper
• Physical Activity: An Under-utilized Tool in Managing Type 2 Diabetes in Older Adults: A Narrative Review

  2025cites this paper
• Longitudinal assessment of functional independence of older adults after lung cancer surgery: Final results of the JCOG1710A prospective cohort study.

  2025cites this paper
• Disability-Related Loss in Lifespan and Specific Social Determinants of Health Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults with Disabilities: Evidence from China’s Aging Population

  2025cites this paper
• Is a higher body mass index associated with longer duration of survival with disability in frail than in non-frail older adults?

  2024cites this paper
• Effects of weight-bearing dance aerobics on lower limb muscle morphology, strength and functional fitness in older women

  2024cites this paper
• Improving Physical Abilities And The Most Efficient Methods In Adults Over 40 Years Old

  2024cites this paper
• Pulmonary Rehabilitation and Functional Independence: Impact on Survival in Patients with Fibrotic Interstitial Lung Disease or Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.

  2024cites this paper
• Propulsive forces and muscle activation during gait: comparisons between premenopausal and postmenopausal midlife women

  2024cites this paper
• Comprehensive geriatric assessment of older patients with renal disease: a cross-sectional survey

  2024cites this paper
• Healthy Lifespan Statistics Derived From Cross-Sectional Prevalence Data Using the Sullivan Method are Informative Summary Measures of Population Health

  2024cites this paper
• Association of the interaction between daily step counts and frailty with disability in older adults

  2024cites this paper
• Use of Primary Healthcare Among Chinese Older Adults With Functional Limitations

  2023cites this paper
• The measurement of structural ageing – an axiomatic approach

  2023cites this paper
• Racial-Ethnic Disparities in Dual-Function Life Expectancy.

  2023cites this paper
• Persistence in UK Historical Data on Life Expectancy

  2023cites this paper
• Modelling the burden of disease for cattle–A case of ticks and tick-borne diseases in cattle in a rural set-up in South Africa

  2023cites this paper
• Dual Functionality in Later Life.

  2023cites this paper
• Priority of the basic and instrumental activities of daily living in older patients with cancer prescribed rehabilitation: a cross-sectional survey

  2023cites this paper
• Comparison of Power Training vs Traditional Strength Training on Physical Function in Older Adults

  2022cites this paper
• Comparative performance of the EuroQol EQ-5D-5L and the CDC healthy days measures in assessing population health

  2022cites this paper
• The Relationship Between Social Isolation and Mortality Among Adults Aged 50 and Older in a 12-year Follow-Up Analysis in Mexico

  2022cites this paper
• The minimal clinically important difference in the treadmill six-minute walk test in active women with breast cancer during and after oncological treatments

  2022cites this paper
• Trends and biopsychosocial correlates of physical disabilities among older men and women in Taiwan: examination based on ADL, IADL, mobility, and frailty

  2022cites this paper
• Association between self-reported body mass index and active life expectancy in a large community-dwelling sample of older U.S. adults

  2022cites this paper
• Impact of number of functional teeth on independence of Japanese older adults

  2022cites this paper
• Mapping the Global Landscape of Long-Term Care Insurance Research: A Scientometric Analysis

  2022cites this paper
• Association between the Standardized Mortality Ratio and Healthy Life Expectancy in Japan

  2022cites this paper
• FACTORS AFFECTING LIFE EXPECTANCY IN VIETNAM, LAOS, CAMBODIA

  2022cites this paper
• Is there an association between inflammatory markers and lower physical performance in older adults?

  2022cites this paper
• The Prevalence and Correlates of Activity Limitations Among the Elderly in Informal Caregiving Settings in Colombo District, Sri Lanka: A Community Based Cross-Sectional Study

  2022cites this paper
• Sustainable Design for a Functional Reeducation of Senior Citizens About the Basic Activities of Daily Living

  2021cites this paper
• Racial/Ethnic and Educational Disparities in the Impact of Diabetes on Population Health among the US-Born Population.

  2021cites this paper
• Effect of family "upward" intergenerational support on the health of rural elderly in China: Evidence from Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey

  2021cites this paper
• Association Between Neighborhood Disadvantage and Functional Well-being in Community-Living Older Persons.

  2021cites this paper
• Sleep duration and incident frailty: The Rural Frailty Study

  2021cites this paper
• Tratamiento médico del paciente anciano: calidad de vida, esperanza de vida, ética

  2021cites this paper
• Neighborhood Disadvantage and Active, Disabled and Total Life Expectancy Among Community-living Older Persons

  2021cites this paper
• A Debatable Top Ten Papers in Geriatric Medicine List

  2020cites this paper
• Life expectancy and active life expectancy by disability status in older U.S. adults

  2020cites this paper
• Are We Living Longer and Healthier?

  2020cites this paper
• Life expectancy and active life expectancy by marital status among older U.S. adults: Results from the U.S. Medicare Health Outcome Survey (HOS)

  2020cites this paper
• Development of a scalable and extendable multi-dimensional health index to measure the health of individuals

  2020cites this paper
• Out-of-Pocket Healthcare Expenditures in Dependent Older Adults: Results From an Economic Evaluation Study in Mexico

  2020cites this paper
• Innovations in Geroscience to enhance mobility in older adults

  2020cites this paper
• KEEP ON: STAYING ACTIVE TO PROMOTE WELL-BEING DURING THE GOLDEN YEARS

  2020cites this paper
• Surgery in the Frail Elderly: Nursing Home Patients

  2020cites this paper
• Non‐memory subjective cognitive concerns predict incident motoric cognitive risk syndrome

  2020cites this paper
• Insomnia, low sleep quality, and sleeping little are associated with frailty in Mexican women.

  2020cites this paper
• Post-exercise provision of 40 g of protein during whole body resistance training further augments strength adaptations in elderly males

  2020cites this paper
• Functional Status May Serve as a Predictor of CABG Surgery Outcome in the Elderly Patient

  2020cites this paper
• Determinants of Adherence in Time-Restricted Feeding in Older Adults: Lessons from a Pilot Study

  2020cites this paper
• Gender and Age Differences in Loneliness: Evidence for People without and with Disabilities

  2020cites this paper
• Effects of Whey Protein Supplementation on Aortic Stiffness, Cerebral Blood Flow, and Cognitive Function in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: Findings from the ANCHORS A-WHEY Clinical Trial

  2020cites this paper
• Disability-Free Life Trends at Older Ages: Implications for Longevity Risk Management

  2020cites this paper
• The quest of tourism and overall well-being: the developing economy of Pakistan

  2020cites this paper
• Association of Fish Oil and Physical Activity on Mobility Disability in Older Adults.

  2020cites this paper
• Epidemiologic Research on Healthy Life Expectancy and Proposal for Its Extension: A Revised English Version of Japanese in the Journal of the Japan Medical Association 2019;148(9):1781-4

  2020cites this paper
• Trends in disease-free life expectancy at age 65 in Spain: Diverging patterns by sex, region and disease

  2020cites this paper
• [Impact of lifestyle-related diseases and frailty on the incidence of loss of independence in Japanese community-dwelling older adults: A Longitudinal Study on Aging and Health in Kusatsu].

  2020cites this paper
• Long-term Functional Decline After High-Risk Elective Colorectal Surgery in Older Adults.

  2020cites this paper
• Age, period and cohort effects in activities of daily living, physical and cognitive functioning impairment among the oldest-old in China.

  2019cites this paper
• Religiosity Dimensions and Disability-Free Life Expectancy in Taiwan

  2019cites this paper
• Chronic Illness and Long-Term Care

  2019influential citation
• 32 The Demography of Population Health

  2019cites this paper
• Gestione medica dei pazienti anziani: qualità della vita, aspettativa di vita, etica

  2019cites this paper
• Evaluation of the True Endpoint of Clinical Trials for Cancer Cachexia

  2019cites this paper
• [The health of Mexicans living in localities with less than 100 000 inhabitants].

  2019cites this paper
• Socioeconomic inequalities in health and nutrition among older adults in Mexico.

  2019cites this paper
• Age and cohort trajectories of gender inequality in health among elderly people in China

  2019cites this paper
• Social isolation undermines quality of life in older adults

  2019cites this paper
• 28 Mathematical Demography

  2019cites this paper
• Outcome of bariatric surgery in older patients.

  2018cites this paper
• Prise en charge médicale des patients âgés : qualité de vie, espérance de vie, éthique

  2018cites this paper
• Factors associated with physical activity of women aged over 75 in South Korea

  2018cites this paper
• Evaluation of water balance in a population of older adults. A case control study.

  2018cites this paper
• New Demands on Education and Training for the Care of Old People: The Case of Israel

  2018cites this paper
• Las dificultades del sueño se asocian con fragilidad en adultos mayores

  2018cites this paper
• Associations of Multimorbid Medical Conditions and Health-Related Quality of Life Among Older African American Men

  2018cites this paper
• Making More of IT: Enabling Intensive Motor Cognitive Rehabilitation Exercises in Geriatrics Using Information Technology Solutions

  2018cites this paper
• Kobe University Repository : Kernel タイトル Tit le Longitudinal relat ionships between ability to perform act ivit ies of daily living and mobility in community-living elderly over 75 years old 著者

  2018cites this paper
• O papel do profissional gerontólogo bacharel na percepção de outros profissionais da saúde de São Caetano do Sul, São Paulo

  2018cites this paper
• Functional Trajectories Before and After Major Surgery in Older Adults

  2018cites this paper
• Addressing Obesity in Aging Patients.

  2018cites this paper
• Limitations in Activities of Daily Living among Dementia-Free Older Adults in Panama

  2018cites this paper
• Personalized predictive modeling for patients with Alzheimer’s disease using an extension of Sullivan’s life table model

  2017influential citation
• Survival, disabilities in activities of daily living, and physical and cognitive functioning among the oldest-old in China: a cohort study.

  2017cites this paper
• Lower limb explosive strength capacity in elderly women: effects of resistance training and healthy diet.

  2017cites this paper
• Socioeconomic Differences and Trends in the Place of Death among Elderly People in China

  2017cites this paper
• ARCHITECTURE FOR WELL LIVING NOT WELL BEING (FEASIBILITY OF ACCEPTANCE RATE OF COMMON LIVING ENVIRONMENT OF OLD PEOPLE AND YOUNG ORPHANS)

  2017cites this paper
• Expanding public health in China: an empirical analysis of healthcare inputs and outputs.

  2017cites this paper
• Lebensverlängerung und die Folgen für den Pflegebedarf bezogen auf das Lebensalter über 60

  2017cites this paper
• Evaluating Distinctions in the Assessment of Late-Life Disability

  2017cites this paper
• Possibility and problems of a cross- country comparative analysis of long- term care needs and systems: Germany and Taiwan in comparison

  2017cites this paper
• Association between tooth loss and cognitive decline: A 13-year longitudinal study of Chinese older adults

  2017cites this paper
• Self-rated health, multimorbidity and depression in Mexican older adults: Proposal and evaluation of a simple conceptual model.

  2017cites this paper
• Mobility of the Elderly

  2017cites this paper