CDC Charts Progress at Increasing Years of Healthy Life

But expected years of life free from chronic conditions fell to 43.1 years, from 43.7 years.

Similarly, for people who are 65 years old, the total expected years of additional life increased to 18.6 years in 2006-2007, from 17.7 years in 2000-2001.

Expected years of life in good or better health increased to 13.7 years, from 12.9 years, and expected years of life free from activity limitations increased to 11.8 years, from 11.1 years.

But expected years of life free from chronic conditions fell slightly, to 2.7 years, from 2.8 years.

The higher percentage of people with chronic diseases could be a result of improvements in medical care, but, if it reflects a real increase in chronic condition rates, it could be a sign that improvements in mortality and freedom-from-limitation rates could deteriorate.

HHS officials also found some other disappointing results in areas related to disability and the need for long term care (LTC).

The Healthy People 2010 program managers had hoped to increase the percentage of working-age people with disabilities in the work force to 80%, from 43% in 1997. Instead, the percentage fell to 37% in 2008. That’s the latest year of data included in the new report, and that employment rate was recorded before the recession swept in.

The most disappointing LTC results in the program report have to do with lack of data: Officials stopped collecting home health care, nursing home care and adult daycare access data during the middle of the study, officials said.

One indicator of LTC quality -the number of pressure ulcer diagnoses per 1,000 patients – rose to 20 in 2004, from 16 in 1997, before HHS stopped collecting pressure ulcer data for the report.