Life expectancy at 65, associated factors for women and men in Europe

Abstract

In Europe, the epidemiological transition has already taken place, while the demographic transition continues. Life expectancy at 65 is expanding for both women and men. The primary aim of this work is to identify the factors associated with life expectancy at 65 for women and men in Europe. The second aim is to confirm the influence of cultural factors on life expectancy. Finally, the link between spending on pensions, soil pollution, and life expectancy is also tested. Data for 31 European countries for the period 2004–2018 have been collected to estimate a linear panel data model. Life expectancy at 65 for women and men is the dependent variable. Independent variables are grouped into socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental conditions. The main result of this work is the importance of GDP per capita, and education and pension expenditure in explaining the heterogeneity of life expectancy at 65 across countries. Other significant results include the association of cultural characteristics, air pollution, and soil pollution with life expectancy. The design of policies for older adults and the improvement of their health and active life should consider not only differences in education but cultural characteristics, too. European directives that disregard people’s cultural differences may not have the expected result. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10433-022-00695-1.

Social and Economic Determinants of Life Expectancy at Birth in Eastern Europe

“…LEB is recognized as a very important parameter of social and economic development, summarizing in the most elegant way the level of well-being in a country [ 7 , 31 , 46 ]. LEB is positively influenced by some socioeconomic factors, like economic development, higher living standards, better education, as well as greater access to quality health services.…”

“…Currently, there are huge disparities in terms of average LEB, varying between 50 and 55 years in the countries of Central Africa (Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, and South Sudan) to 80–85 years in the countries of Western Europe, Israel, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and Japan. The situation was similar in the year 2022 in South-Eastern Europe, where, with the exception of Slovenia and Cyprus, all other countries have average LEB levels below 80 years, Bulgaria being in the last position, very slightly below the worldwide average level of 71.5 years [ 7 ].…”

Research translation: A pathway for health inequity

“…There is even a body of literature indicating that the relationship between social expenditures and health outcomes is stronger than that between health expenditures and health outcomes. 21 What does this mean for health research funders and institutions? Some might argue that the implications are minimal.…”

“…Social stratification is among the most important of those social conditions. There is even a body of literature indicating that the relationship between social expenditures and health outcomes is stronger than that between health expenditures and health outcomes 21 …”

A Longitudinal Study of the Effect of Memory on the Quality of life of European Adults and Older Adults

“…Aging of the population is the result of higher life expectancies and lower birth rates (Tavares, 2022;Weber & Loichinger 2022). Increments in life expectancy are partially due to improvements in treatment of communicable diseases and, consequently, chronic diseases have become the main cause of death among developed countries (McCracken & Phillips, 2017).…”