- My Longevity Experiment
- Posts
- This is why Healthcare Costs are so High and why you Should Worry about Aging
This is why Healthcare Costs are so High and why you Should Worry about Aging
This is why your Golden Years might Not be so Golden
My Longevity Experiment
September 02, 2024
This is why Healthcare Costs are so High and why you Should Worry about Aging
This is why your Golden Years might Not be so Golden
The number of individuals over the age of 65 in the United States is projected to double by 2060, with one in five residents reaching retirement age. Similarly, the demand for long-term care services is expected to increase significantly. This demographic trend is likely to be mirrored, to varying extents, in many countries around the world.
A recent study published in Nature Aging by Andrew J. Scott, Martin Ellison, and David Sinclair suggests that targeting the aging process itself, rather than focusing on individual diseases associated with aging, could be key to addressing the healthcare costs traditionally linked to getting older.
Professor David Sinclair
David Sinclair, co-director of the Paul F. Glenn Center for Biology of Aging Research at Harvard Medical School and one of the study's authors, emphasized, "People don't think about aging as something that is treatable or should be treated like a disease. But it is a disease. It's just a very common one."
Average Life Expectancy
As people age, cellular senescence contributes to a range of complications. Biological changes throughout a person’s lifetime lead to deterioration and, ultimately, death, while also increasing the risk of chronic conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and Alzheimer's disease.
The conventional medical approach has been to treat diseases as they emerge. However, an emerging field known as "geroscience" poses a different question: What if the goal was to extend "healthspan", that’s the number of years in a person’s life that they remain healthy and independent, rather than just prolonging lifespan?
Healthspan refers to the period in a person's life during which they are in good health and do not require significant support, whether clinical or financial.
Dr. David Sinclair stated, “Instead of practicing health care in this country, we're practicing sick care, or what I call 'whack-a-mole medicine.' Medical research is moving towards not just putting Band-Aids on the symptom of disease but getting at the major root cause of all major diseases, which is aging itself."
The Study
The study contrasted current disease-based interventions with a hypothetical aging intervention using Metformin, a drug commonly used to treat diabetes, as a means to increase both "healthspan" and lifespan.
While Metformin appears to offer protection against age-related diseases, it is not yet approved for over-the-counter use in many countries.
Researchers evaluated the economic impact of improved health and aging using the "Value of Statistical Life" model, a model frequently employed by governmental organizations and economists.
Results
The findings of the study were significant. The researchers concluded that increasing "healthy" life expectancy by just 2.6 years could potentially result in a $83 trillion savings.
According to a recent report commissioned by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, a person turning 65 in the next few years is expected to spend, on average, between $142,000 and $176,000 on long-term care over their lifetime.
Even more striking, the study found that a slowdown in the aging process that increases life expectancy by one year could be worth $38 trillion, and by ten years, $367 trillion.
Statement
Addressing the potential impact on healthcare costs, David Sinclair noted, "It would reduce the incidents of cancer, dementia, cardiovascular disease and frailty. In total, we're spending 17% of everything we generate on health care, and largely that's spent in the last year of life."
Other Findings
By 2065, 15% of Americans over the age of 65 are projected to live with at least two disabilities, further increasing the demand for assistance with daily living. Much of this care will be funded out-of-pocket by family members or the seniors themselves, as Medicare does not cover long-term care, and Medicaid only provides support once an individual is impoverished.
Interventions aimed at promoting slower, healthier aging could offer substantial benefits due to a positive feedback loop. The study’s authors argue that the more successful a society is in keeping its residents healthy as they age, the greater the demand for, and economic benefit from, subsequent age-related innovations.
Statement
Regarding the willingness to invest in longevity, David Sinclair remarked, "People have an interest in spending whatever they have, to spend a few more years with their family, and that will only increase the longer we live."
Sinclair's Lab
At the end of 2020, Sinclair's lab at Harvard published a study demonstrating that they were able to partially restore vision in aged mice by reprogramming gene expression.
The researchers plan to begin similar trials on primates in the coming autumn and on humans the following year.
Although the science community has yet to establish proof that death is inevitable, when asked about potential limits to human longevity, David Sinclair responded, "I don't know, but what I do know is that young people don't get sick as often. If we could literally stay as fit as a 30-year-old forever, what would go wrong?” He added, "We said that cancer and heart disease were 'natural' 100 years ago. Now, would you accept it if a doctor said you had a lump in your throat and dismissed it as natural? So why do we accept it for aging?"
Study Links: