Study Finds Americans Are Living With More Health Problems Across the Lifespan

A new study by Neil Mehta, PhD and colleagues in the International Journal of Epidemiology, Sicker at all ages? Two decades of changing disease histories and mortality in the United States, suggests that Americans are increasingly living with multiple chronic health conditions at younger ages, contributing to stalled improvements in life expectancy and mortality.

Researchers analyzed data from more than 510,000 U.S. adults collected between 1997 and 2018 and found that the proportion of people with no major health conditions declined steadily over time. In its place, more individuals were living with combinations of conditions such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and physical limitations.

The study identified five distinct health profiles, ranging from disease-free individuals to those with high levels of multimorbidity, or multiple chronic conditions. Researchers found that mortality improvements slowed or reversed for many of these groups after the mid-2000s.

The findings suggest that stagnating U.S. mortality rates are driven not only by increasing numbers of people living with complex health conditions, but also by limited gains in survival among those groups. The authors conclude that stronger prevention, chronic disease management, and public health efforts are needed to improve population health and longevity.