International View on Burden of Disease and Subjective Health of Male Seniors 65+ in Germany, 2015

Background: In the German health surveys of the Robert Koch Institute, over 50% of senior citizens 65+ are said to have very good and good subjective health. Is this assessment correct or is there a bias, since seniors over 80 years of age are hardly reached in health surveys?

Methods: In answering this question, official data from the Federal Statistical Office and statistical publications in Germany and the European Union as well as the men’s health reports published in Germany were analysed. An important data source on Global Burden of Disease (GBD) of the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) was included in the review.

Results: The data on the health situation of seniors change strongly in older age groups, at the same time the subjective health sinks. In a European comparison, the healthy life expectancy of men aged 65 and over in Germany is significantly lower than 14.1 years in Sweden at 6.9 years. Only 39% of the further life expectancy of 65-year-old men in Germany lives in good subjective health, compared with 77% in Sweden.

Conclusions: In official statistics and health surveys it is not sufficient to have senior citizens over 65+ in one group. Due to demographic ageing, it is necessary to publish better overviews of the health situation of 65+ seniors by age groups. With the method inventory of IHME the influence of risk factors and diseases on the quality of life can be calculated. This provides a good basis for concept development and prevention programmes to further improve the quality of life of seniors. 

Keywords: Burden of disease (BoD); Subjective health; Seniors 65+; Men´s Health; Risk behaviour of seniors; Healthy life expectancy; Disability Adjusted Life Years (DALY`s).