By NATSUMI ADACHI/ Staff Writer
December 25, 2024 at 17:03 JST
Healthy life expectancy for men shrank in the most recent survey taken in 2022, according to data released by the health ministry on Dec. 24.
The estimates for men and women were 72.57 years and 75.45 years, respectively, decreasing by 0.11 years for men and extending by 0.07 years for women from the previous survey conducted in 2019.
This was the first estimate of healthy life expectancy taken after the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in 2020.
“Average life expectancy has been shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic," a health ministry official said. "We believe that healthy life expectancy has also been indirectly affected.”
Healthy life expectancy is calculated every three years by the health ministry’s research group. The group defines people who responded “yes” to a question in the Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions concerning poor health as "unhealthy."
The difference between the average life expectancy and healthy life expectancy for 2022 was 8.49 years for men and 11.63 years for women.
The figure was 8.73 years for men and 12.06 years for women in the previous survey conducted in 2019. The difference between men and women narrowed slightly over the three years between the surveys.
By prefecture, Shizuoka has the longest healthy life expectancy for both men and women, with 73.75 years for men and 76.68 years for women.
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