Healthy life expectancy increased continuously between 1992 and 2017. For men it rose from 11.1 to 13.7 years and for women from 11.9 to 14.5.

This indicator is part of the Monitoring System Addiction and NCD (MonAM) of the Federal Office of Public Health (FOPH).

This indicator shows the numbers of years of life a person can expect to live in good health. The fewer limitations a person has in old age, the longer they can live and look after themselves without depending, or to a lesser extent, on assistance or institutions. Differences in healthy life expectancy provide an initial indication of unequal living conditions (lifestyle, social status or influence of mental factors).

The indicator provides important information on the ageing process and living conditions within the population and as society continues to age is likely to prove invaluable in the planning of future health provision.

Definition

This indicator was calculated on the basis of data from the Swiss Health Survey and the Vital statistics (BEVNAT).

It shows healthy life expectancy from age 65.

The Sullivan (1971) method is used to calculate healthy life expectancy. This takes the following information into account:

  • Number of deaths in corresponding year (by age and sex)
  • Permanent resident population in corresponding year (by age and sex)
  • Prevalence of people in good or very good health in corresponding year (by age and sex)

When comparing data over time, the time series breaks between 2007, 2012 and 2017 due to a revision of the questionnaire should be borne in mind.

Sources

Reference

  • Sullivan, D. F. (1971). A single index of mortality and morbiditiy. HSMHA Health Reports, 86 (4): 347–354.

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Last updated

01/06/2019