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Life expectancy in Western industrialized countries will exceed 90 years
Although experts have long thought it impossible, a new study now shows that average life expectancy in developed countries could soon rise to over 90 years. According to the study, the gap between women and men is expected to shrink.
The Germans are getting older and older
Last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported increasing life expectancy worldwide. The Germans had even reached a new record level before. A recent study shows that the life expectancy of children in industrialized countries born in 2030 could rise to more than 90 years.
Humans are getting older. According to a new study, the life expectancy of those born in 2030 could rise to over 90 years. (Image: pressmaster / fotolia.com) Maximum life expectancy
Although the trend that people are getting older, has long been known, but according to experts, there is an upper limit. For example, US scientists reported that maximum life expectancy was limited to 115 years.
Other researchers say it can be increased tenfold. However, a large part of the experts doubt that people can live that long.
A team of Vasilis Kontis from Imperial College London has now come to a conclusion that the life expectancy of children in industrialized countries born in 2030 could rise to more than 90 years.
Data from 35 industrialized countries analyzed
The scientists analyzed data from 35 countries, including Germany, for their study. The results, published in the journal The Lancet, also show that the gap between men and women in life expectancy is expected to shrink.
Based on the World Health Organization (WHO) birth and death data and using a statistical model, the experts calculated the life expectancy in 35 industrialized countries for the birth year 2030.
They found that life expectancy for males in all countries is at least 85 percent likely to increase, and for females with a 65 percent probability.
Especially women from South Korea can get very old
Also regional differences are named. For example, women in South Korea will reach a life expectancy of more than 90 years in 2030 with a 57 percent probability.
The authors point out that reaching the 90-year mark at the beginning of the century was still considered impossible by most experts. According to the study, women from France, Spain and Japan are almost as old as the South Koreans.
In Germany, people are also getting older all the time. The life expectancy of men in this country is currently around 78 years and is expected to rise to nearly 82 by 2030, according to the study. For German women, life expectancy will increase by three years from the current 86 years.
Gender difference is shrinking
The data also shows that the difference in life expectancy between women and men is generally shrinking, but not everywhere.
A commentary on the study states: "The sex difference is expected to decline by 2030 in most industrialized countries, except in Mexico, Chile, France and Greece."
It is said that women currently live longer than men in the countries studied, because men are more likely to suffer fatalities there and are more likely to develop behaviors, such as smoking, that increase their risk of developing diseases such as lung cancer and cardiovascular disease.
Study leader Majid Ezzati said in a "Lancet" release that her predictions of higher life expectancy prove her successes in healthcare. However, it is important that politics supports the growing elderly population.
The said commentary states that predicting life expectancy "can help governments and health services make the right investments in health, such as preventing deaths from infectious diseases and reducing maternal and infant mortality." (Ad)