From healthy survivors to sick survivors--implications for the twenty-first century

Hypotheses concerning compression of morbidity have gained support, particularly due to improved lifestyles from 1950 to date, but now the increase is largely due to improvements in healthcare.

Survey data from Sweden were used to test whether the older population aged 65-84 years during 1995-2002 had more longstanding illnesses than the older population of 1980-87 or 1988-94.

There was an increased prevalence of many longstanding illnesses among the elderly in Sweden between 1988-94 and 1995-2002. The increase was especially pronounced among those with at least three longstanding illnesses. For diabetes, heart disease, and hypertension, the prevalence among elderly men increased by over 20%. However, those reporting these kinds of longstanding illnesses perceive improved health and are less restricted in their daily activities.

Results from Sweden indicate that many countries approaching Sweden's life expectancy will have an increased need for care for the oldest population in the future. The compression-of-morbidity hypothesis is being challenged, probably due to improvements in healthcare.