Relationships between best-practice and greatest possible life expectancies

Area of Science:

• Demography
• Public Health
• Gerontology

Background:

• Global life expectancy has significantly increased over the past century.
• Understanding the drivers of life expectancy is crucial for public health policy.
• Previous studies have often overlooked low-mortality regions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the relationship between best-practice and greatest possible life expectancies.
• To analyze the gaps and lags between these life expectancies from 1950 to 2100.
• To identify the age groups contributing most to the life expectancy gap.

Main Methods:

• Utilized United Nations World Population Prospects (2017) data.
• Analyzed abridged period life tables for 201 countries/areas (both sexes combined).
• Employed gap, lag, and decomposition analyses.

Main Results:

• Both best-practice and greatest possible life expectancies show linear increases.
• The average gap between best-practice and greatest possible life expectancy is approximately 1.14 years.
• The average lag is 7.59 years, with significant contributions from individuals over 65.

Conclusions:

• Life expectancy trends are converging towards a linear increase.
• The gap in life expectancy is primarily influenced by mortality in older age groups.
• Further research into gerontology and age-specific mortality is warranted.