healthspans

Healthspans refers to the portion of a person’s life spent in good health, free from major illness and disability, and able to perform daily activities with minimal limitation. The term in plural emphasizes that health trajectories vary across individuals and populations, producing diverse healthspan profiles over the life course. It focuses on both quality of life and length of life, distinguishing healthspan from total lifespan.

Healthspan is often estimated with metrics such as disability-free life expectancy, morbidity-free life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, and health-related quality of life indices. Longitudinal studies, surveys, and health records are used to track changes over time. Challenges include varying definitions of health, cultural differences in reporting, and balancing subjective and objective indicators.

Determinants include genetics, lifestyle choices such as nutrition, physical activity, smoking, and alcohol use, sleep, and mental health, along with social determinants like income, education, housing, and access to health care.

Strategies to extend healthspans emphasize prevention, early detection, vaccination, and management of chronic conditions; promote regular physical activity, a balanced diet, social engagement, and adequate sleep; and address inequities that shorten healthspans.

Healthspans complement lifespan by focusing on healthy years rather than only a longer life. Debates continue about appropriate metrics, the feasibility of compressing morbidity, and how healthspans vary across populations and over time.