A new analysis of South Korea's national health insurance data from 2008 to 2020 has revealed that higher the level of an individual's income, the longer and healthier life the person leads. In South Korea, the gap between the average life expectancy of the richest and the poorest is around nine years.
The research and analysis study was led by Korea University’s College of Medicine professor Yoon Suk-joon and has been published in the Journal of Korean Medical Science.
The analysis of national health insurance data found that those in the highest income group, among five income levels, had an average healthy life expectancy of 74.88 years — 8.66 years longer than the 66.22 years recorded for the lowest income group.
Healthy life expectancy refers to the number of years a person lives free from serious illness or disability. The national average for the 2008-2020 period increased by nearly three years, rising from 68.89 years to 71.82 years.
The study revealed gender differences as well. In 2020 women had a healthy life expectancy of 73.98 years, 4.55 years longer than men’s 69.43 years.
Dr Yoon said, “We need targeted strategies, like health promotion programmes for the low-income population to close these gaps.”
In a disturbing trend, the research team found a growing gap between healthy life expectancy and overall life expectancy, which means people are spending more years living in poor health. While healthy life expectancy increased, overall life expectancy rose even more — from 80.83 years in 2008 to 84.55 years in 2020.
This figure shows that the gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy widened, from 11.94 years in 2008 to 12.73 years in 2020.