The urban-rural gap in older Americans' healthy life expectancy.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

Estimate health-quality-adjusted life expectancy (QALE) for Americans nearing retirement age and assess rural-urban disparities in QALE.

Methods

We used a dynamic microsimulation model based on Health and Retirement Study data to estimate the quantity and health quality of expected future life years for rural and urban Americans ages 59-60 in 2014-2020.

Findings

Cohort life expectancy at age 60 (LE) for urban and rural men was 22.9 and 20.9, respectively; for urban and rural women, LE was 25.6 and 25.0, respectively. Adjusting future life years to quality-adjusted life years, QALE was 17.5 versus 15.7 for urban versus rural men, and 19.3 versus 18.7 for women. Compared to a cohort in 1994-2000, the urban-rural QALE gap in 2014-2020 grew substantially for men;

SUBMITTER: Chapel JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11650376 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature