Abstract
Japan has the highest life expectancy in the world. However, this does not guarantee an improved quality of life. There is a gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy. This study aimed to reveal the features of healthy life expectancy across all secondary medical areas (n = 344) in Japan and examine the relationship among healthcare resources, life expectancy, and healthy life expectancy at birth. Data were collected from Japan’s population registry and long-term insurance records. Differences in healthy life expectancy by gender were calculated using the Sullivan method. Maps of healthy life expectancy were drawn up. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis were used for analysis. The findings revealed significant regional disparities. The number of doctors and therapists, support clinics for home healthcare facilities and home-visit treatments, and dentistry expenditure per capita were positively correlated with life expectancy and healthy life expectancy (correlation coefficients > 0.2). They also revealed gender differences. Despite controlling for population density, inequalities in healthy life expectancy were observed, highlighting the need to promote social policies to reduce regional disparities. Japanese policymakers should consider optimal levels of health resources to improve life expectancy and healthy life expectancy. The geographical distribution of healthcare resources should also be reconstituted.
Highlights
Life expectancy (LE) is an indicator of health status, there is a growing interest in the quality of life (QOL) of older adults during their later years
The proportion of secondary medical areas with short Healthy life expectancy (HLE) was higher in the northern (Tohoku region) and northern-central (Kanto region) parts of Japan, while the proportion of areas with high HLE was higher in the central (Chubu region) and southern (Kyushu-Okinawa regions) parts. These results indicated significant regional disparities; the common point is that for both males and females, the proportion of areas with short HLE was high in the northern part of Japan (Tohoku region), while the proportion of areas with high HLE was high in the central part (Chubu region)
The proportion of secondary medical areas with short HLE was higher in the northern part of Japan (Hokkaido and Tohoku regions), while areas with higher rates of high HLE were in the central (Chubu region) and west-central (Kinki regions) parts
Summary
Life expectancy (LE) is an indicator of health status, there is a growing interest in the quality of life (QOL) of older adults during their later years. Healthy life expectancy (HLE) is a useful indicator of a population’s overall health, reflecting length of life as well as QOL [1,2,3]. HLE refers to an individual’s length of life lived without limitations in daily activities. HLE at birth is an important indicator of a population’s health status and QOL [4]. HLE combines data on both mortality and morbidity [5]. It summarizes mortality and non-fatal outcomes in a single measure of the general population’s health
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