• C Sauvaget, C Jagger, and A J Arthur.
• Department of Epidemiology, Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Hiroshima, Japan.
• Age Ageing. 2001 Nov 1; 30 (6): 509-15.

ObjectivesTo estimate active and cognitive impairment-free life expectancy at older ages from longitudinal data collected during two consecutive rounds of health checks for patients aged > or =75 years.SettingA single, large general practice serving Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire, UK, and its surrounding area.Outcome Measuresactive life expectancy was defined by independence in seven activities of daily living (mobility, transfer from bed, transfer from chair, bathing, feeding, dressing, using the toilet). Cognitive impairment was defined by a score of < or =7 on the information/orientation subtest of the Clifton Assessment Procedures of the Elderly.ResultsWe assessed 1557 people aged > or =75 years at baseline. Active life expectancy at age 75 was 4.6 years for men and 3.1 years for women (50.5 and 29.2% of remaining life). Cognitive impairment-free life expectancy at age 75 was 8.4 years for men and 9.9 years for women (92.3 and 93.4% of remaining life). The proportion of active life decreased dramatically with age in both sexes: after the age of 87, almost all of remaining life was spent with some activity restriction. The proportion of life free from cognitive impairment, in comparison, decreased slowly in men and remained relatively constant in women at around 90%.ConclusionsThe extra years lived by women over men appear to be spent with some form of activity restriction, although not all with cognitive impairment. Monitoring these trends over time will be important to ascertain whether we are exchanging longer life for poorer health.

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