Extending Health Expectancy

Abstract

All health-related issues exist in a context of extending health expectancy. Behavioral risk factors, diagnostic ”omics,” disparities, insurance, tissue engineering, and climate can shorten life expectancy, but before that, health expectancy. Longer life can bring decades of disability; longer health can mean dying healthy after brief incapacity. Because health precedes other accomplishments, extending average health expectancy into the ninth decade during the 21st century would have an impact comparable to doubling life expectancy in the 20th century.

Keywords

• personalized health
• risk factors
• poverty
• artificial intelligence
• climate change
• microbiome
• telemedicine
• old age