{
  "id": 297575,
  "title": "Morbidity gap widening across most countries since 1990, study finds",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/07/morbidity-gap-widening-across-most-countries-since-1990-study-finds",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-07T22:37:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Hindu Health",
    "slug": "the-hindu-health",
    "url": "https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/health/morbidity-gap-widening-across-most-countries-since-1990-study-finds/article71280848.ece"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The study published in The Lancet Public Health journal has revealed that the gap between healthy life expectancy and total life expectancy has widened across most countries since 1990. This indicates that people worldwide are living longer, but are also spending more years in poor health. The average percentage of life spent in poor health globally increased from 13.6% in 1990 to 14.5% in 2023. The widening morbidity gap, which is the difference between total life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, was observed throughout the adult lifespan, suggesting that people are living with disease and disability for more years in adulthood. In India, the morbidity gap increased from 8.4 years in 1990 to 10.6 years in 2023. The analysis suggests that future improvements in population health will depend not only on extending life but also on enhancing health. The study emphasizes the need for greater investment in prevention, long-term disease management, and chronic care to reduce years spent in poor health. Women, on average, lived longer than men but also had a larger morbidity gap, indicating that they spent more years living in poor health across all regions and levels of development.",
  "summary": "A recent study published in The Lancet Public Health journal reveals that the gap between healthy life expectancy and total life expectancy has widened across most countries since 1990. In 2023, healthy life expectancy fell short of total life expectancy by 10.7 years, up from 8.8 years in 1990, indicating that people worldwide are living longer but also spending more years in poor health. The analysis, based on Global Burden of Disease (GBD) 2023 estimates, suggests that the widening morbidity gap is not limited to the final years of life but is observed throughout the adult lifespan. In India, the morbidity gap in 2023 was 10.6 years, up from 8.4 years in 1990, with total life expectancy increasing from 58.5 years to 71.6 years and healthy life expectancy rising from 50.1 years to 61.0 years. The study emphasizes the need for greater investment in prevention, long-term disease management, and chronic care to reduce years spent in poor health and improve overall healthspan.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}