Comparing the differences in three measures of healthy life expectancy, effects of mortality, and proportions of unhealthy people according to prefectures in Japan: An Ecological study
Abstract Objective: An Ecological study using open data collected, compiled, and published in government statistics in Japan was conducted. The study aimed to verify the differences in these three measures of healthy life expectancy (HLE), namely disability-free life expectancy without activity limitation (DFLE-AL), life expectancy with self-perceived health (LE-SH), and disability-free life expectancy without care need (DFLE-CN), in relation to appropriate policymaking.Results: Using data from 47 prefectures in 2010, 2013, and 2016, the three types of HLE were extended over time. There were strong correlations between DFLE-AL and LE-SH (r = 0.69–0.83) as well as LE and DFLE-CN (r = 0.75–0.98) in both sexes. However, the other correlations were either weak or not significant. Regression analysis examining the association between the aging rate, mortality, the proportion of unhealthy people, and three types of HLE showed that the “subjective unhealthy rate” was significant (the standardized partial regression coefficients = -0.56– -0.34) in models with DFLE-AL and LE-SH as dependent variables. Therefore, DFLE-CN was suggested to be a different indicator from the other two HLEs. The “subjective unhealthy rate” had a significant influence on the prefectural DFLE-AL and LE-SH.