Hypertension, quality of life and functional status: the concept of active life expectancy.

Mortality rates and measures of life expectancy are widely used to compare and monitor health within populations. However, there is a need to add dimensions of population health other than survival. An alternative measure, 'active life expectancy', is a way of quantifying the functional health of older adult populations and, in part, measuring quality of life. Life-table techniques are used to define the expected duration of well-being. Instead of death, the end-point of active life expectancy is loss of independence in activities of daily living. Initial studies showed that active life expectancy decreased with age, from 10 years to 4.7 years and 2.9 years, respectively, for people entering the age intervals 65-69, 80-84 and 85 years and over. Since cardiovascular disease is the major cause of disability in the older adult population, measures of active life expectancy can provide improved information about functional independence and dependence. Life tables with estimates of active life expectancy can be used as a basis for determining the needs of age cohorts of people with hypertension and other conditions.