Tsuji Ichiro
Division of Epidemiology, Department of Health Informatics & Public Health, School of Public Health, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Japan.
JMA J. 2020 Jul 15;3(3):149-153. doi: 10.31662/jmaj.2020-0027. Epub 2020 Jul 7.
Healthy life expectancy is an indicator that represents a composite of data on mortality and health status and is defined as the average number of years that a person can expect to live at a certain level of health. To extend people's healthy life expectancy, my colleague and I conducted a variety of epidemiologic research based upon community-based cohort studies and intervention trials. The findings from our prospective cohort studies included blood pressure reference values measured at home, green tea health benefit, Japanese dietary pattern, and feeling (a sense of life worth living) at daily life. Based upon these evidence, I have made some proposals toward extension of healthy life expectancy. In 2011, as the Chair of the Planning Committee for the Next National Health Promotion of Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW), I proposed that the Health Japan 21 (second term) should aim to extend healthy life expectancy to exceed the number of years extended in the total life expectancy, thus compressing the duration to be spent in an unhealthy state (compression of morbidity). In the interim evaluation of the Health Japan 21 (second term) in 2018, we were able to demonstrate that this goal is being achieved. Compared with 2010, in 2016, the increase in healthy life expectancy (1.72 years in men and 1.17 years in women) was higher than that of total life expectancy (1.43 years in men and 0.84 years in women). As a result, the duration to be spent in an unhealthy state was reduced by 0.29 years in men and by 0.33 years in women. It is important to note that Japan is the only country that has made progress in achieving compression of morbidity at the national level. We need to maintain this momentum of compressing morbidity.
健康预期寿命是一个代表死亡率和健康状况数据综合情况的指标，被定义为一个人在特定健康水平下预期能够存活的平均年数。为了延长人们的健康预期寿命，我和我的同事基于社区队列研究和干预试验开展了各种流行病学研究。我们前瞻性队列研究的结果包括在家测量的血压参考值、绿茶对健康的益处、日本饮食模式以及日常生活中的生活感受（一种有生活价值的感觉）。基于这些证据，我对延长健康预期寿命提出了一些建议。2011年，作为厚生劳动省（MHLW）下一期全国健康促进规划委员会主席，我提议“健康日本21（第二期）”应旨在将健康预期寿命延长至超过总预期寿命的延长年数，从而缩短在不健康状态下度过的时间（发病期压缩）。在2018年对“健康日本21（第二期）”的中期评估中，我们能够证明这一目标正在实现。与2010年相比，2016年男性健康预期寿命的增加（男性增加1.72岁，女性增加1.17岁）高于总预期寿命的增加（男性增加1.43岁，女性增加0.84岁）。结果，男性在不健康状态下度过的时间减少了0.29年，女性减少了0.33年。需要注意的是，日本是唯一一个在国家层面实现发病期压缩方面取得进展的国家。我们需要保持这种压缩发病期的势头。
