Development in life expectancy with good and poor cognitive function in the elderly European Population from 2004-05 to 2015

Background Living not just longer, but also cognitively healthier, and more independent lives is essential if European countries are to cope with the financial challenges that the shifting age composition of Europe’s population presents. Here we investigate the change in life expectancy (LE) spent with good and poor cognitive function among older adults across Europe. Methods LE with good/poor cognitive function was estimated by the Sullivan Method. Cross-sectional data on cognitive functioning was obtained from 23,213 (wave 1, 2004-05) and 40,874 (wave 6, 2015) 50+-year-olds of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). Information on mortality was obtained from the Eurostat Database. Results for 70+-year-olds were emphasized. Results LE with good cognitive function increased with 1.6 years from 10.7 years (95% CI: 10.6–10.9) in 2004-05 to 12.4 years (95% CI: 12.3–12.5) in 2015 for 70+-year-olds. Disparity was observed across sex and region. In 2004-05, a 70+-year-old woman could expect to spend 30.9% (95% CI: 29.4–32.4) of her remaining LE with poor cognitive function compared to 27.7% (95% CI: 26.0 -29.4) for men. In 2015, women (24.4% (95% CI: 23.4–25.3)) had considerably caught up with men (24.8% (95% CI:23.7.25.8)), shifting the pattern in favor of women. In 2004-05 and 2015, Northern Europeans had the lowest LE with poor cognitive function while Southern Europeans had the highest, but made the most improvement during the period. Conclusions Overall we find that LE with poor cognitive function has been compressed in the European population of 70+-year-olds.