Singaporeans are living longer, but not necessarily healthier. Can science close the gap?

The Ministry of Health estimates that Singaporeans spend about 75 years in good health. 

According to a recent study by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and the National University of Singapore’s (NUS) Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, the gap between lifespan and healthspan has widened by more than two years from 1990 to 2023. Women also spent more years in poor health than men.

This means many Singaporeans could spend close to a decade of their lives dealing with ill health, frailty or disability. 

WHY ARE SINGAPOREANS LIVING LONGER? 

Part of the reason is that potentially fatal health problems are being detected and treated earlier.

Better management of chronic diseases and a more integrated healthcare system have helped tackle conditions such as cancer and heart disease, while advances in medicine and technology have improved early disease detection. 

But while these developments are helping people live longer, non-fatal health problems can be harder to address. 

Physical and mental health conditions can accumulate over adulthood, leading to prolonged pain, disability and a poorer quality of life.

The challenge, then, is to prevent or delay these problems so that gains in lifespan are matched by gains in healthspan.