Baby boomers living longer, but in poorer health than previous generations

In the paper, published in Journals of Gerontology, researchers from the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies and the University of Oxford found that rates of chronic disease, obesity and disability had increased across successive generations in England, the USA and Europe during the 20th century.

In particular, baby boomers were one and a half times more likely than previous generations to have cancer, lung disease, heart problems, diabetes and high cholesterol as they entered their 50s and 60s.

Lead author, PhD student Laura Gimeno (UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies) said: “With people living longer, our new study confirms that they are not necessarily spending their later years in good health. We find that there is a ‘generational health drift’, whereby younger generations tend to have worse health than previous generations at the same age.

“Even with advances in medicine and greater public awareness about healthy living, people born since 1945 are at greater risk of chronic illness and disability than their predecessors. With up to a fifth of the population in high-income Western nations now aged over 65, increasing demands for health and social care will have huge implications on government spending.”

The researchers found that although prevalence of diabetes rose at the same rate, diagnoses of cancer, heart problems and high cholesterol increased the most in England and continental Europe. Increases in lung disease and high blood pressure were the most apparent in Europe and the US, with baby boomers on the continent nearly three times as likely to have chronic bronchitis or emphysema than their earlier born counterparts.

The study also found that more recent generations were more likely to be obese than their predecessors in all regions apart from southern Europe (Italy, Spain and Greece). People in Scandinavia experienced the greatest increases in Body Mass Index (BMI), with baby boomers in Denmark and Sweden one and a half times as likely to be obese than their earlier born peers.

While rates of disability decreased across pre-war generations, the trend appeared to slow stall or reverse for later-born groups. In the UK, baby boomers were nearly one and a half times more likely to experience difficulties performing three or more personal care tasks, such as washing or eating, than their earlier born peers at the same age.

The researchers analysed data on the health and mobility of multiple generations of people aged 50 and above in England, the US and continental Europe who are taking part in the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA), the US-based Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE).

Using information collected from over 100,000 people between 2004 and 2018, they examined participants’ reports of doctor-diagnosed chronic illness and BMI, records on mobility issues and disability, as well as objective data on BMI, grip strength and blood pressure.

Ms Gimeno added: “Our study finds concerning new evidence that more recently born generations are experiencing worsening health as they enter their later years. Despite declining rates of disability for the pre-war generations, chronic disease and increasing obesity may be spilling over into severe disability for the baby boomers.

“If life expectancy remains stable or continues to increase, these worrying trends may see younger generations spending more years in poor health and living with disability. However, even with the baby boomers at greater risk of experiencing chronic disease, it is not inevitable that they will experience a worsening quality of life and increasing disability provided these conditions are well managed.

“Nonetheless, if this generational health drift does result in people spending more years in poor health, this will have considerable implications for health and social care expenditure and for how funding is allocated across these services.”

Links

• Cohort differences in physical health and disability in the United States and Europe, published in the Journals of Gerontology
• Laura Gimeno’s academic profile
• UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies
• IOE, UCL’s Faculty of Education & Society

Image

• Credit: Drazen Zigic on iStock 

Media contact 

Ryan Bradshaw

r.bradshaw@ucl.ac.uk