Americans spend more time living with disease than the rest of the world, research shows

Americans spend more time living with diseases than people from other countries, according to a new study.

On Wednesday, the American Medical Association said published the latest findings showing that Americans live an average of 12.4 years with diseases. Mental and substance use disorders, as well as musculoskeletal diseases, contribute significantly to the years people live with disabilities, according to the US study.

Women in the US showed a 2.6 year higher so-called health-longevity gap (which is the number of years spent sick) than men, rising from 12.2 to 13.7 years or 32% above the global average for women.

The latest overall health and longevity gap in the US marks an increase from 10.9 years in 2000 to 12.4 years in 2024, resulting in a 29% greater gap than the global average.

Globally, the gap between health and longevity has widened over the past twenty years, from 8.5 years in 2000 to 9.6 years – an increase of 13%.

Following the US with the largest differences in health and longevity were Australia with 12.1 years, New Zealand with 11.8 years, Great Britain and Northern Ireland with 11.3 years and Norway with 11.2 years. In contrast, the smallest differences in health and longevity were observed in Lesotho at 6.5 years, the Central African Republic at 6.7 years, Somalia and Kiribati at 6.8 years and Micronesia at 7 years.

Describing the results, study authors Armin Garmany and Andre Terzic said: “These results underline that people around the world, although living longer, suffer from disease for a greater number of years.”

The study added that, in line with global trends, the US gap coincided with disproportionate growth in life expectancy versus health-adjusted life expectancy. In the US, life expectancy among women has increased from 79.2 to 80.7 years, and among men from 74.1 to 76.3 years, the study found.