2010 December 34 Number 3,ies Ser

Life Expectancy Free of

Chronic Condition-induced

Activity Limitations Among

White and Black Americans,

2000–2006

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

National Center for Health Statistics 
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Suggested citation

Molla MT, Madans JH. Life expectancy free of chronic condition-induced activity

limitations among white and black Americans, 2000–2006. National Center for

Health Statistics. Vital Health Stat 3(34). 2010.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Molla, Michael T., author.

Life expectancy, free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations among

White and Black Americans, 2000–2006 / Authors, Michael T. Molla, Ph.D. and

Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D.

p. ; cm. — (Vital and health statistics. Series 3, Analytical and epidemiological

studies ; Number 34) (DHHS publication ; No. (PHS) 2011-1418)

‘‘December 2010.’’

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 0-8406-0645-1

1. Medical statistics—United States. 2. Life expectancy—United States. 3. 

Chronic diseases—United States—Statistics. 4. United States—Statistics, 

Medical. 5. United States—Statistics, Vital. 6. African Americans—Health and 

hygiene—Statistics. I. Madans, Jennifer H., author. II. National Center for Health 

Statistics (U.S.), issuing body. III. Title. IV. Series: Vital & health statistics. 

Series 3, Analytical and epidemiological studies ; no. 34. V. Series: DHHS 

publication ; no. (PHS) 2011–1418. 

[DNLM: 1. Life Expectancy—United States—Statistics. 2. African Continental

Ancestry Group—United States—Statistics. 3. European Continental Ancestry

Group—United States—Statistics. W2 A N148vc no.34 2010]

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Series 3, Number 34

Life Expectancy Free of Chronic

Condition-induced Activity

Limitations Among White and

Black Americans, 2000–2006

Analytical and Epidemiological

Studies

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

National Center for Health Statistics

Hyattsville, Maryland

December 2010

DHHS Publication No. (PHS) 2011–1418
National Center for Health Statistics

Edward J. Sondik, Ph.D., Director

Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D., Associate Director for Science

Office of Analysis and Epidemiology

Linda T. Bilheimer, Ph.D., Director
Contents 

Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 

Introduction .............................................................................................. 1 

Active Life Expectancy (Active Life) .......................................................................... 2 

Sources of Data ............................................................................................ 2 

Expected Years Free of Chronic Condition-induced Activity Limitations .............................................. 2 

Methodology .............................................................................................. 3 

Results ................................................................................................... 3 

Change in the Components of Expected Years of Active Life, 2000–2006 ........................................... 3 

Change in Active Life Expectancy Between 2000 and 2006 ...................................................... 4 

Conclusion ................................................................................................ 6 

References ................................................................................................ 7 

Appendix I. NHIS Questions on Chronic Condition-induced Activity Limitations...................................... 19 

Appendix II. Technical Notes ................................................................................ 20 

Figures

1.	 A schematic presentation of the model ................................................................... 3 

2.	 Expected years free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations at ages 25, 45, and 65 for white males: 

United States, 2000 and 2006 .......................................................................... 5 

3.	 Expected years free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations at ages 25, 45, and 65 for white females: 

United States, 2000 and 2006 .......................................................................... 6 

4.	 Expected years free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations at ages 25, 45, and 65 for black males: 

United States, 2000 and 2006 .......................................................................... 6 

5.	 Expected years free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations at ages 25, 45, and 65 for black females: 

United States, 2000 and 2006 .......................................................................... 7 

6.	 Percentage of males surviving, by age and race: United States, 2000 and 2006 .................................. 7 

7.	 Percentage of females surviving, by age and race: United States, 2000 and 2006................................. 8 

Text tables

A.	 Gains in life expectancy in years between 2000 and 2006 ................................................... 4 

B.	 Gains in life expectancy free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations between 2000 and 2006 for males, 

females, and white and black populations................................................................. 5 

C.	 Gains in life expectancy free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations between 2000 and 2006 for white and 

black populations, by sex at ages 25, 45, and 65 ........................................................... 5 

Detailed tables

1.	 Life expectancy at selected ages, by sex: United States, 2000–2006 .......................................... 10 

2.	 Life expectancy for white persons at selected ages, by sex: United States, 2000–2006............................ 11 

3.	 Life expectancy for black persons at selected ages, by sex: United States, 2000–2006............................ 12 

4.	 Expected years of life free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations at selected ages, by sex: United States, 

2000–2006......................................................................................... 13 

iii
5.	 Expected years of life free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations at selected ages, by sex: United States, 

2000–2006......................................................................................... 14 

6.	 Expected years of life free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations at selected ages, by sex: United States, 

2000–2006......................................................................................... 15 

7.	 Expected years of active life free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations as a percentage of life expectancy at 

selected ages, by sex: United States, 2000–2006 .......................................................... 16 

8.	 Expected years of active life free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations as a percentage of life expectancy at 

selected ages, by sex: United States, 2000–2006 .......................................................... 17 

9.	 Expected years of active life free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations as a percentage of life expectancy at 

selected ages, by sex: United States, 2000–2006 .......................................................... 18 

iv
Objective

Life expectancy without activity

limitations or active life expectancy is

one of the health expectancy measures

that is used to summarize population

health. The measure differentiates the

remaining years of life that are

expected to be spent with activity

limitations from expected years of life

without activity limitations. The objective

of this study was to estimate life

expectancy with and without activity

limitations for the white and black

populations of the United States in the

years 2000–2006, focusing on expected

years free of chronic condition-induced

activity limitations.

Methods

Life expectancies for the total as well

as the white and black populations for

the years 2000–2006 were calculated

separately using abridged single

decrement life tables. Expected years

of life with and without chronic

condition-induced activity limitations

were calculated using Sullivan’s

method. The statistical analysis is

based on data from the U.S. Census

Bureau and the National Center for

Health Statistics.

Results

Results of the study show that

during the 7-year period, expected

years free of chronic condition-induced

activity limitations increased for the total

population as well as the white and

black populations of both sexes. For the

total population, all males and all

females, years free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations

increased significantly at all ages

except at 85 and over. Expected years

free of chronic condition-induced activity

limitations increased at age 75 and

under for the white population and at

age 65 and under for the black

population.

Keywords: Mortality c nonfatal

health outcomes c summary

measures of population health

Life Expectancy Free of

Chronic Condition-induced

Activity Limitations Among

White and Black Americans,

2000–2006

by Michael T. Molla, Ph.D., and Jennifer H. Madans, Ph.D.

Introduction 

In 1900, deaths occurred mainly

because of communicable diseases

(acute conditions). The leading causes of

death at that time included tuberculosis,

pneumonia, and diarrhea (1). By the end

of the century, all the communicable

diseases that were major causes of death

had been greatly reduced and most of

the major causes of death were

noncommunicable diseases or chronic

conditions. By the year 2000 for

example, the top 10 leading causes of

death in the United States included

diseases of the heart, malignant

neoplasms, cerebrovascular diseases,

chronic lower respiratory diseases,

diabetes mellitus, Alzheimer’s disease,

nephritis, nephrotic syndrome and

nephrosis, and septicemia. In the year

2000, these causes jointly accounted for

68 percent of all deaths in the United

States (2). In the same 100-year period,

death rates declined resulting in an

increase in the average life expectancy

of the population. In the United States,

average life expectancy was 47.3 years

in 1900 and rose to 77.0 years in 2000,

an increase of 62.8 percent. The change

in mortality also caused a change in the

age structure of the population, which

eventually led to the aging of the

population. A history of declining

mortality has been the principal cause of

population aging not only in the United

States, but in other low-mortality

countries such as Sweden (3). In the

United States, the population aged 65

and over, which was only 4.1 percent of

the total population in 1900, rose to

12.4 percent by the year 2000; more

than three times the 1900 percentage.

In an aging population, chronic

conditions are not only major causes of

death, but are also major causes of

activity and functional limitations.

According to the World Health

Organization, major chronic conditions

affecting the health of older people

(aged 65 and over) include

cardiovascular diseases, hypertension,

stroke, diabetes, cancer, chronic

obstructive pulmonary disease, and

musculoskeletal conditions (4). In the

United States, millions of Americans

with chronic conditions have work

disabilities (5). For older adults, chronic

conditions contribute to loss or decrease

in functioning and increase in

dependency (6). The oldest and fastestgrowing population subgroup (those

aged 85 and over) (7), is the most

vulnerable to chronic conditions (8).

More recent research findings showed

that in the period 1997–2004, the

percentage of Americans needing help

with activities of daily living (ADLs) or

instrumental activities of daily living

(IADLs) have continued to decline

while reports of some chronic conditions

and impairment continued to rise (9).

For example, a National Academy of

Sciences study showed that about

80 percent of the older population

suffered from at least one chronic

condition and nearly 40 percent had

activity limitations due to chronic

conditions (10).

Page 1
Page 2 [ Series 3, No. 34

Active Life

Expectancy (Active

Life)

By the year 2000, all developed

countries and a number of developing

countries have either already completed

or are completing the epidemiologic

transition and in the process, realized

that extension of life might not

necessarily mean the extension of

healthy life (11). This transition also has

expanded the conceptual horizon of

population health and population health

measures. Population health measures

need to account both for morbidity and

mortality. New concepts such as the

expansion and compression of

morbidity, burden of disease, activity

and functional limitations, disability, and

the disablement process became integral

parts of the conceptual framework of the

new set of indexes that were developed

to measure population health.

One of these indexes adjusts life

expectancy for the years expected to be

lived with limitations and is called

active life expectancy or simply, active

life. Active life expectancy is perceived

as a useful tool for health planning and

making health-related policy decisions.

One indication of the perceived

usefulness of the concept of active life

expectancy for policy makers is the fact

that ‘‘years of active life’’ has been

included among national and

international health goals. In the United

States for example, the goal in 2000 was

65 years of active life expectancy for

the total population (12). The promotion

of health-related risk-free behaviors, the

creation of healthy environments at the

state and community levels, and

increasing access to high-quality health

care are recognized as essential elements

for achieving a longer and healthier life

(13).

Sources of Data

This study is based on data for

2000–2006 from the National Vital

Statistics System (NVSS) and the

National Health Interview Survey

(NHIS), both from the Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention’s

National Center for Health Statistics.

Single-year complete life tables were

constructed for the 7 years, 2000–2006,

by the Division of Vital Statistics based

on NVSS data for the total population,

all males, all females, and for the white

and black populations by sex (14,15).

Life tables are not currently available

for other racial or ethnic groups and so

race-specific analyses are shown for the

white and black populations only.

Abridged life table values were

summarized from the complete life

tables by the authors.

In general, the word ‘‘active’’ refers

to continuing participation in social,

economic, cultural, spiritual, and civic

affairs, not just the ability to be

physically active or to participate in the

labor force. In the context of public

health, ‘‘active’’ is used to differentiate

persons with and without limitations in

social roles (4). NHIS collects

information on activity limitations based

on a variety of questions from the

family core questionnaire. Appendix I

includes a list of these questions.

Information collected on activity

limitations varies by age and type of

limitation. Respondents are asked about

work limitations: whether they need

personal assistance with personal care or

ADLs such as eating, bathing, dressing,

and getting around the home, and

whether they need personal assistance

with handling routine needs or IADLs

such as everyday household chores,

which includes using the telephone,

managing money, and shopping or

running errands.

Information on cognitive

impairment is collected using indicators

that identify respondents who are

limited because of difficulty

remembering. Other indicators are used

to collect information on difficulty

walking without any special equipment

or limitations related to specific personal

care. NHIS collects information on

children who receive special education

or early intervention services.

Information is also collected on

limitations related to play activities for

young children. Depending on the

ability of a person to perform the social

roles expected of his or her age, each

person is classified into one of the

following four categories: not limited;

unable to perform major activity; limited

in kind or amount of major activity; or

limited in other activities.

Whenever limitations are identified,

the respondent is asked to specify the

health conditions causing the limitations.

Each condition reported as a cause of a

person’s activity limitation or limitations

has been classified as chronic or

nonchronic. Conditions are considered

chronic if they are not cured once they

are acquired such as heart disease,

diabetes, and birth defects. Additionally,

conditions are considered chronic if they

have already existed continuously for 3

or more months after onset (16–18).

Expected Years Free

of Chronic

Condition-induced

Activity Limitations

In the prevalence-based Sullivan

model, the operational definition of

active life is based on mortality and

nonfatal health outcome components

(19). The mortality component is

unidimensional and is measured by total

expected years of remaining life. On the

other hand, the nonfatal health outcome,

which is a multidimensional measure,

can be defined in many ways. The

operational definition of active life

varies from one study to another. The

variability in definition is partly because

of the multidimensional nature of the

nonfatal component of the measure and

the interests of the investigation, but it

also is due to variations in the sources

of health survey data and variation in

the age of the population under study.

In some studies, active life has been

defined simply as the ‘‘duration of

functional well-being’’ (20,21). This

distinction is nonspecific and could be

operationalized in many ways. In other

studies, active life is defined as the

expected or remaining years of life free

of disability (22,23), but disability can

also be defined and operationalized in

many ways. In studies that focused

exclusively on the elderly population,
Series 3, No. 34 [ Page 3

active life is often defined as expected

years free of disability, related

specifically to ADLs or IADLs (24–29).

Active life has also been defined based

on disability where disability is

expressed in terms of limitations in kind

and amount of work (30).

In this study, active life is defined

by combining aspects of age-specific

activity limitations including inability to

perform a major activity, ability to

perform a major activity but being

limited in kind or amount of a major

activity, or being limited in activities

other than the major activity for a

person’s age; and whether or not the

limitations were caused by chronic

conditions when limitations were

reported. The report compared two

groups of persons with different

limitation statuses. The first group

included persons free of all types of

activity limitations. The second group

included persons with all activity

limitations caused by chronic conditions.

The analysis does not include persons

with activity limitations caused by acute

conditions or activity limitations with

cause unknown. Hence, active life

expectancy or active life at any age is

defined as the remaining years of life

that are free of chronic conditioninduced activity limitations.

Methodology

Sullivan’s method was used to

compute expected years with and

without chronic condition-induced

activity limitations. The method,

presented schematically in Figure 1,

combines standard life table values and

age-specific prevalence rates of nonfatal

health outcomes from cross-sectional

health survey data to estimate expected

years with and without the observed

health outcomes that negatively impact

the health of those who are still alive.

In this study, a model was used to

estimate expected years of life with and

without chronic condition-induced

activity limitations. Then, the estimated

total life expectancies and the expected

years without activity limitations were

used to calculate the percentage of

remaining life expected to be lived

without such limitations. Gains in 

expected years of life free of chronic 

condition-induced activity limitations 

during the years 2000–2006 were also 

calculated. Expected years of life with 

and without chronic condition-induced 

activity limitations were calculated 

separately for the total as well as the 

white and black populations with and 

without taking gender into account using 

the following formula: 

where

e

′ 

x is the remaining years free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations for

persons who have reached age x;

lx is the number of life table survivors at

age x;

(1 – nπx) represents the age-specific rate

of a health state free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations;

nLx is the total number of years lived by

a cohort in the age interval (x, x + n);

and π is the oldest age category.

Standard errors for the expected

years of life without chronic conditioninduced activity limitations were

calculated using the approach described

in Appendix II. Differences in gains of

expected years of life free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations

between population subgroups

1 π

e

�

x = l ∑ (1– nπi

) nLi , x i = x

were tested using a two-tailed Z test at

the 0.05 level of significance and the

results are noted in the text.

Results

Change in the Components

of Expected Years of Active

Life, 2000–2006

Changes in expected years free of

chronic condition-induced activity

limitations are consequences of changes

in fatal and nonfatal health outcomes.

Hence, the results presented in this

report include a brief discussion of the

changes in the components of expected

years free of chronic condition-induced

activity limitations.

The period life tables for the years

2000–2006 show that life expectancy

rose for males and females as well as

the white and the black populations at

all ages (Table A). During the 7-year

period, life expectancy at birth for the

total population increased by about

nine-tenths of a year (average annual

gain of about 1.5 months). Male life

expectancy at birth increased by about

1.0 years (average annual gain of about

1.7 months) and female life expectancy

 

Fatal health outcome measure 

(life table value such as total 

person-years lived) 

Nonfatal health outcome measure 

(health status information such as 

prevalence of activity limitations) 

Life table technique 

Summary measure of health

(active life expectancy) 

SOURCE: CDC/NCHS, adapted from Molla MT, Madans JH, Wagener DK, Crimmins EM. Summary measures of 

population health: Report of findings on methodologic and data issues. National Center for Health Statistics. 

Hyattsville, MD. 2003. 

Figure 1. A schematic presentation of the model
Page 4 [ Series 3, No. 34

at birth increased by nine-tenths of a

year with an annual gain of 1.5 months.

Between 2000 and 2006, the expectation

of life at birth for the white population

also increased by about nine-tenths of a

year, an average of about 1.5 months

per year. During the 7-year period, the

expectation of life at birth for the black

population increased by a yearly average

of about 2.4 months with a total gain of

one and four-tenths of a year for the

period 2000–2006.

According to the 2000 NHIS,

95.3 percent of all persons with activity

limitations reported that their limitations

were caused by chronic conditions. Only

1.7 percent of the respondents reported

that their limitations were caused by

acute conditions. Three percent of the

respondents with activity limitations did

not state whether their limitations were

caused by chronic or acute conditions.

In 2006, the percentage of those who

reported that their limitations were

caused by chronic conditions rose to

96.2 percent and the percentage of

persons who reported that their activity

limitations were caused by acute

conditions remained at 1.7 percent. For

the remaining 2.1 percent with activity

limitations, it was not known whether

the limitations were caused by chronic

or acute conditions.

NHIS data also indicated that for

the period 2000–2006, the prevalence of

chronic condition-induced activity

limitations has declined slightly in the

United States for both the white and the

black populations. In 2000, the

age-adjusted prevalence rate of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations

was 11.6 percent for white males and

11.3 percent for white females. The

age-adjusted prevalence rate was

14.2 percent for black males as well as

black females. By 2006, the prevalence

rate of chronic condition-induced

activity limitations had dropped by 1

percentage point each for white males,

white females, and black males and by 2

percentage points for black females.

Change in Active Life

Expectancy Between 2000

and 2006

As a consequence of the observed

declines in mortality as well as chronic

condition-induced activity limitations,

expected years of life without chronic

condition-induced activity limitations

have increased between the years 2000

and 2006. Expected years free of

chronic condition-induced activity

limitations increased for the total U.S.

population as well as the population

subgroups indicated in Table B. Gains in

years free of chronic condition-induced

activity limitations were statistically

significant for all groups under age 85

shown in Table B, except for the black

population where the gains were

significant at age 65 and under.

The comparison of Table A and

Table B shows that for the total

population as well as the population

subgroups shown in these tables, more

than one-half of life expectancy gain

during the 7-year period was expected

to be free of chronic condition-induced

activity limitations. The only exception

is the percentage gains in active life

expectancy at age 75 for the black

population, where the gain in expected

years of active life is less than one-half

the gain in expected years of life.

As has been observed by

cross-sectional as well as longitudinal

studies (22,23), on average, females are

expected to enjoy more years of active

life than males of the same age.

Expected years free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations in

the years 2000 and 2006 among white

males, white females, black males, and

black females aged 25, 45, and 65 are

presented in Figures 2–5. The results of

our study show that in the year 2000,

the average expected years free of

chronic condition-induced activity

limitations among white males was 42.7

years at age 25, 25.1 years at age 45,

and 10.8 years at age 65. By 2006, the

average expected years free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations

among white males at the same three

ages rose to 43.7 years (age 25), 26.0

years (age 45), and 11.8 years (age 65)

(Figure 2), indicating an increase of 1.0

year at age 25, 0.9 year at age 45, and

1.0 year at age 65 (Table C).

In the year 2000, the average

expected years free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations

among white females was 45.2 years at

age 25, 27.2 years at age 45, and 12.1

years at age 65. In 2006, the average

expected years free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations

among the group rose to 46.0 at age

25, 27.9 at age 45, and 13.0 at age 65

(Figure 3). These changes in years free

of chronic condition-induced activity

limitations show a gain of 0.8 year at

age 25, 0.7 year at age 45, and 0.9 year

at age 65 (Table C).

During the 7 years, average

expected years free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations

also increased for black males and black

females. In the year 2000, the average

expected years free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations

among black males was 37.0 years at

age 25, 20.4 years at age 45, and 8.7

years at age 65. By 2006, the expected

years free of chronic condition-induced

activity limitations among black males

had increased to 38.4 years at age 25,

Table A. Gains in life expectancy in years between 2000 and 2006

Population group

Age in years All races Male Female White Black

0..................... 0.9 

1..................... 0.9 

5..................... 0.9 

15 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.9 

25 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.9 

35 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.9 

45 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0 

55 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.0 

65 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.9 

75 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.6 

85 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.3 

NOTE: Calculated based on detailed Tables 1–3.

1.0 0.9 0.9 1.4

1.1 0.9 0.8 1.4

1.1 0.9 0.8 1.5

1.0 0.9 0.8 1.4

1.0 0.8 0.8 1.4

1.1 0.8 0.9 1.3

1.0 0.8 0.9 1.2

1.1 0.8 0.9 1.2

1.0 0.7 0.9 1.0

0.7 0.5 0.5 0.7

0.3 0.3 0.2 0.4
Series 3, No. 34 [ Page 5

21.8 years at age 45, and 9.8 years at

age 65 (Figure 4). The increase in

expected years free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitation

among these group was 1.4 years at age

25, 1.2 years at age 45, and 1.1 years at

age 65 (Table C).

Among black females, average

expected years free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations in

the year 2000 was 39.5 years at age 25,

22.2 years at age 45, and 8.9 years at

age 65. In 2006, average expected years

free of chronic condition-induced

activity limitations among black females

rose to 40.8 years at age 25, 23.3 years

at age 45, and 9.9 years at age 65

(Figure 5). Between the years 2000 and

2006, the gain in expected years free of

chronic condition-induced activity

limitations was 1.3 years at age 25, 1.1

years at age 45, and 1.0 year at age 65

(Table C). The gains in years free of

chronic condition-induced activity

Population group

All races and

both sexes Male Female White Black

Age in years Gain SE Gain SE Gain SE Gain SE Gain SE

0 ....................... †

0.6 0.2 †0.7 0.2 †0.5 0.2 †0.6 0.2 †0.9 0.4

1 ....................... †

0.6 0.2 †0.7 0.2 †0.6 0.2 †0.6 0.2 †0.8 0.4

5 ....................... †

0.6 0.2 †0.8 0.2 †0.6 0.2 †0.6 0.2 †0.9 0.4

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . †

0.7 0.2 †1.0 0.2 †0.7 0.2 †0.7 0.2 †1.0 0.4

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . †

0.8 0.2 †1.1 0.2 †0.7 0.2 †0.8 0.2 †1.1 0.4

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . †

0.8 0.2 †1.1 0.2 †0.7 0.2 †0.8 0.2 †1.1 0.4

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . †

0.8 0.2 †1.0 0.2 †0.7 0.2 †0.8 0.2 †1.0 0.4

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . †

0.8 0.2 †1.1 0.2 †0.7 0.2 †0.8 0.2 †1.0 0.4

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . †

0.9 0.2 †1.0 0.2 †0.8 0.2 †0.8 0.2 †0.9 0.4

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . †

0.7 0.2 †0.7 0.2 †0.7 0.2 †0.7 0.2 0.3 0.2

85. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2 0.3 0.2

†

t greater than 1.96.

NOTES: Calculated based on detailed Tables 4–6. SE is standard error.

Table B. Gains in life expectancy free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations between 2000 and 2006 for males, females,

and white and black populations

Table C. Gains in life expectancy free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations between 2000 and 2006 for white and black

populations, by sex at ages 25, 45, and 65

Population subgroup

White male White female Black male Black female

Age in years Gain SE Gain SE Gain SE Gain SE

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . †

1.0 0.2 †0.8 0.2 †1.4 0.5 †1.3 0.5 

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . †

0.9 0.2 †0.7 0.2 †1.2 0.5 †1.1 0.5 

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . †

1.0 0.2 †0.9 0.2 †1.1 0.5 †1.0 0.5 

†

t greater than 1.96. 

NOTES: Calculated based on Tables 4–6. SE is standard error. Age in years 

0 10 20 30 40 50 

2006 

2000 

65 

45 

25 

42.7 

43.7 

25.1 

26.0 

10.8 

11.8 

Active years 

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System and National Health Interview Survey. 

Figure 2. Expected years free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations at ages 25,

45, and 65 for white males: United States, 2000 and 2006
Page 6 [ Series 3, No. 34

limitations during the 7 years were

statistically significant for all four

population groups (white males, white

females, black males, and black

females), except for black females at

age 65 (Table C). Life expectancies,

expected years free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations,

and expected years free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations as

percentages of life expectancies at

selected ages, are also presented in

Tables 1–9.

Conclusion 

In the earlier decades of the 20th

century, life expectancy was one of the

most frequently used indicators of

improvement in health. Higher life

expectancy implied longer life and by

implication was also considered to be a

reflection of healthier life (31). At that

time, the major causes of death were

communicable diseases or acute

conditions. Unlike chronic conditions,

which are degenerative in nature and are

major causes of death among the older

population, acute communicable

conditions were major killers of the

younger population (32). The transition

in the major causes of death from acute

to chronic conditions coupled with

advances in medical technology and the

pharmaceutical industry, has increased

the number of persons with chronic

conditions (33).

A comparison of the age patterns of

mortality for the years 2000 and 2006

confirms that during the first 7 years of

the 21st century, most deaths occurred at

the older ages. A comparison of the

survival curves for the years 2000 and

2006 also shows an outward expansion

(rectangularization) (34,35) of the curves

for white and black males (Figure 6) and

for white and black females (Figure 7).

These two figures also show that during

those 7 years, the probabilities of

surviving at the older ages have

increased more for black males than for

white males and for black females than

for white females.

Consistent with other studies that

focused mainly on racial differences in

health in general (36) and active life

expectancy in particular (30), this study

indicates that during the years

2000–2006, life expectancy increased

for the total population and population

subgroups (Table A). Between 2000 and

2006, the expected years free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations

also increased for the total population as

well as population subgroups. Except for

the black population at age 75, more

than one-half of the gain in life

expectancy during the 7-year period was

expected to be free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations.

However, statistical tests showed that

Age in years 

0 10 20 30 40 50 

2000 

2006 

65 

45 

25 

45.2 

46.0 

27.2 

27.9 

12.1 

13.0 

Active years 

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System and National Health Interview Survey. 

Figure 3. Expected years free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations at ages 25,

45, and 65 for white females: United States, 2000 and 2006 Age in years 

0 10 20 30 40 

2000 

2006 

65 

45 

25 

37.0 

38.4 

20.4 

21.8 

8.7 

9.8 

Active years 

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System and National Health Interview Survey. 

Figure 4. Expected years free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations at ages 25,

45, and 65 for black males: United States, 2000 and 2006
there were no significant differences

between the white and the black

populations or males and females with

respect to gains in expected years free

of chronic condition-induced activity

limitations during the years 2000–2006.

As is the case with regard to life

free of disability in general (37), in both

2000 and 2006 regardless of age, white

females were expected to spend more

years free of chronic condition-induced

activity limitations than white males and

black females were expected to spend

more years free of chronic conditioninduced activity limitations than black

males. However, even with the observed

Series 3, No. 34 [ Page 7

gains in life expectancies by each group

during the 7-year period, compared with

the white population, the black

population was expected to spend a

smaller proportion of life expectancy

free of chronic condition-induced

activity limitations, at the younger as

well as the older ages.

The sensitivity of active life

estimates with respect to the operational

definitions of active life must be noted.

As stated earlier, active life can be

defined in several different ways

depending on the operational definition

of the concept. Also, while some studies

assess activity limitations in general, this

report focused on activity limitations

caused by chronic conditions in

particular. It is therefore important to

note that expected years of life free of

chronic condition-induced activity

limitation estimates could be sensitive to

the operational definitions of either of

the two or both nonfatal health outcome

measures, chronic conditions, and

activity limitations. Also, in order to

simplify the trend comparisons, discrete

dichotomous measures of activity

limitations and expected years with and

without limitations were used. Broadly

speaking, activity limitation is part of a

continuum known as the disablement

process (38). Whenever such a

continuous measure is transformed into

a discrete format, estimates could be

sensitive to the cutoff points that are

used in the transformed discrete

measure. While estimated years of life

with and without chronic conditioninduced activity limitations could be

sensitive to the operational definitions of

chronic conditions and/or activity

limitations, it is assumed that the effect

of such definitions on the comparison of

estimates over time is minimal.

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Page 10 [ Series 3, No. 34

Table 1. Life expectancy at selected ages, by sex: United States, 2000–2006

Average number of years of life remaining

Year

Sex and age in years 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

All races and both sexes

0 ....................... 76.8 76.9 76.9 77.1 77.5 77.4 77.7

1 ....................... 76.3 76.4 76.5 76.6 77.0 77.0 77.2

5 ....................... 72.4 72.5 72.6 72.7 73.1 73.1 73.3

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.5 62.6 62.7 62.8 63.2 63.2 63.4

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53.0 53.1 53.2 53.3 53.7 53.6 53.9

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43.5 43.6 43.7 43.8 44.2 44.2 44.4

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.2 34.4 34.4 34.6 34.9 34.9 35.2

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.5 25.6 25.7 25.9 26.2 26.2 26.5

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.6 17.7 17.8 17.9 18.2 18.2 18.5

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.0 11.1 11.0 11.1 11.4 11.3 11.6

85 and over................. 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.1 6.3 6.2 6.4

Male

0 ....................... 74.1 74.2 74.3 74.5 74.9 74.9 75.1

1 ....................... 73.6 73.8 73.9 74.0 74.4 74.4 74.7

5 ....................... 69.7 69.9 70.0 70.1 70.5 70.5 70.8

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59.9 60.0 60.1 60.3 60.7 60.6 60.9

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.5 50.6 50.7 50.9 51.3 51.3 51.5

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.1 41.3 41.4 41.6 41.9 42.0 42.2

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.1 32.2 32.3 32.5 32.8 32.8 33.1

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.6 23.8 23.8 24.0 24.4 24.4 24.7

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.0 16.2 16.2 16.4 16.7 16.8 17.0

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.8 9.9 9.9 10.0 10.3 10.2 10.5

85 and over................. 5.4 5.5 5.4 5.5 5.6 5.6 5.7

Female

0 ....................... 79.3 79.4 79.5 79.6 79.9 79.9 80.2

1 ....................... 78.8 78.9 79.0 79.1 79.4 79.4 79.7

5 ....................... 74.9 75.0 75.1 75.2 75.5 75.5 75.8

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.0 65.1 65.2 65.3 65.6 65.6 65.9

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55.3 55.4 55.4 55.5 55.9 55.9 56.1

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45.6 45.7 45.8 45.9 46.2 46.2 46.4

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.2 36.3 36.4 36.4 36.8 36.8 37.0

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.2 27.3 27.4 27.5 27.8 27.8 28.0

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.0 19.0 19.1 19.2 19.5 19.5 19.7

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.8 11.9 11.9 11.9 12.2 12.1 12.3

85 and over................. 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.5 6.7 6.6 6.8

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System and U.S. Census Bureau.
Series 3, No. 34 [ Page 11

Table 2. Life expectancy for white persons at selected ages, by sex: United States, 2000–2006

Average number of years of life remaining

Year

Sex and age in years 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

White, both sexes

0 ....................... 77.3 77.4 74.9 77.6 77.9 77.9 78.2

1 ....................... 76.8 76.8 74.4 77.0 77.4 77.4 77.6

5 ....................... 72.9 72.9 70.4 73.1 73.5 73.4 73.7

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63.0 63.0 60.6 63.2 63.6 63.5 63.8

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53.4 53.5 51.2 53.7 54.0 54.0 54.2

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43.8 43.9 41.8 44.1 44.5 44.5 44.7

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.5 34.7 32.6 34.8 35.2 35.2 35.4

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.7 25.8 24.1 26.0 26.4 26.4 26.6

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.7 17.8 16.3 18.0 18.3 18.3 18.6

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.0 11.1 9.9 11.1 11.4 11.4 11.5

85 and over................. 6.1 6.1 5.4 6.1 6.3 6.2 6.3

White male

0 ....................... 74.7 74.8 74.9 75.0 75.4 75.4 75.7

1 ....................... 74.2 74.3 74.4 74.5 74.9 74.9 75.1

5 ....................... 70.3 70.4 70.4 70.6 71.0 71.0 71.2

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60.4 60.5 60.6 60.7 61.1 61.1 61.3

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.0 51.1 51.2 51.3 51.7 51.7 51.9

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41.6 41.7 41.8 41.9 42.3 42.3 42.6

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.4 32.6 32.6 32.8 33.1 33.2 33.4

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23.8 24.0 24.1 24.2 24.6 24.6 24.9

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.1 16.3 16.3 16.5 16.8 16.9 17.1

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.8 9.9 9.9 10.0 10.3 10.3 10.5

85 and over................. 5.3 5.4 5.4 5.4 5.6 5.5 5.7

White female

0 ....................... 79.9 79.9 79.9 80.0 80.4 80.4 80.6

1 ....................... 79.3 79.3 79.4 79.4 79.8 79.8 80.0

5 ....................... 75.3 75.4 75.4 75.5 75.9 75.8 76.1

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65.4 65.5 65.5 65.6 65.9 65.9 66.1

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55.7 55.7 55.8 55.9 56.2 56.2 56.4

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46.0 46.0 46.1 46.2 46.5 46.5 46.7

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.5 36.6 36.6 36.7 37.0 37.0 37.2

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.4 27.5 27.5 27.6 27.9 27.9 28.2

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.1 19.1 19.2 19.3 19.5 19.5 19.8

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.9 11.9 11.9 11.9 12.2 12.1 12.3

85 and over................. 6.5 6.5 6.4 6.5 6.6 6.6 6.7

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System and U.S. Census Bureau.
Page 12 [ Series 3, No. 34

Table 3. Life expectancy for black persons at selected ages, by sex: United States, 2000–2006

Average number of years of life remaining

Year

Sex and age in years 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Black, both sexes

0 ....................... 71.8 72.0 72.1 72.3 72.8 72.8 73.2

1 ....................... 71.8 72.0 72.2 72.3 72.8 72.9 73.2

5 ....................... 67.9 68.1 68.3 68.5 68.9 69.0 69.4

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58.1 58.3 58.5 58.6 59.1 59.1 59.5

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48.7 48.9 49.1 49.2 49.7 49.7 50.1

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.6 39.7 39.9 40.0 40.5 40.5 40.9

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.8 31.0 31.1 31.2 31.6 31.7 32.0

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.9 23.0 23.2 23.3 23.7 23.7 24.1

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.1 16.2 16.3 16.4 16.7 16.8 17.1

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.4 10.5 10.5 10.6 10.8 10.8 11.1

85 and over................. 6.3 6.3 6.3 6.4 6.5 6.5 6.7

Black male

0 ....................... 68.2 68.4 68.6 68.8 69.3 69.3 69.7

1 ....................... 68.3 68.5 68.7 68.9 69.3 69.4 69.7

5 ....................... 64.4 64.6 64.8 65.0 65.5 65.5 65.8

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54.6 54.8 55.0 55.2 55.6 55.7 56.0

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45.5 45.7 45.9 46.0 46.5 46.5 46.8

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.6 36.8 36.9 37.1 37.5 37.6 37.9

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.0 28.2 28.3 28.5 28.8 28.9 29.2

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.5 20.7 20.8 20.9 21.2 21.3 21.6

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.1 14.2 14.4 14.5 14.8 14.9 15.1

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.5 9.5 9.8

85 and over................. 5.5 5.6 5.5 5.7 5.7 5.7 5.9

Black female

0 ....................... 75.1 75.2 75.4 75.6 76.0 76.1 76.5

1 ....................... 75.0 75.2 75.4 75.5 75.9 76.0 76.5

5 ....................... 71.2 71.3 71.5 71.6 72.0 72.2 72.6

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61.3 61.4 61.6 61.8 62.2 62.3 62.7

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.6 51.7 51.9 52.1 52.5 52.6 53.0

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.2 42.3 42.5 42.6 43.0 43.1 43.5

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33.2 33.3 33.5 33.6 34.0 34.0 34.5

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.9 25.0 25.2 25.3 25.7 25.7 26.1

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.5 17.6 17.7 17.9 18.2 18.2 18.6

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.3 11.4 11.4 11.5 11.7 11.7 12.0

85 and over................. 6.7 6.7 6.7 6.8 6.9 6.9 7.1

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System and U.S. Census Bureau.
Series 3, No. 34 [ Page 13

Table 4. Expected years of life free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations at selected ages, by sex: United States, 2000–2006

Expected years of active life1

Year

Sex and age in years 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Both sexes

0 ....................... 66.1 65.9 65.7 65.9 66.3 66.5 66.7

1 ....................... 65.6 65.4 65.1 65.3 65.8 66.0 66.2

5 ....................... 61.8 61.6 61.4 61.6 62.0 62.3 62.5

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.6 52.8 52.3 52.5 53.0 53.1 53.4

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43.5 43.8 43.2 43.4 43.9 44.1 44.3

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.4 34.6 34.1 34.3 34.8 34.9 35.2

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.7 26.0 25.6 25.7 26.2 26.3 26.5

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.9 18.2 17.9 17.9 18.4 18.4 18.7

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.3 11.7 11.4 11.5 11.7 11.8 12.2

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.8 6.2 5.8 6.0 6.2 6.2 6.5

85 and over................. 2.2 2.7 2.3 2.2 2.5 2.5 2.5

Male

0 ....................... 64.4 64.2 64.6 64.5 64.8 65.1 65.1

1 ....................... 63.9 63.7 64.1 64.0 64.3 64.6 64.6

5 ....................... 60.1 59.9 60.3 60.3 60.6 61.0 60.9

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.1 51.1 51.5 51.4 51.8 52.1 52.1

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.2 42.2 42.7 42.5 42.9 43.3 43.3

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33.2 33.2 33.7 33.5 33.9 34.3 34.3

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24.6 24.7 25.3 25.0 25.3 25.7 25.6

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16.9 17.1 17.2 17.4 17.7 18.1 18.0

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.6 10.8 10.9 11.1 11.3 11.4 11.6

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 5.7 5.7 5.8 6.0 6.0 6.2

85 and over................. 2.2 2.4 2.4 2.2 2.6 2.2 2.5

Female

0 ....................... 67.9 67.5 67.2 67.3 67.8 68.1 68.4

1 ....................... 67.3 66.9 66.6 66.7 67.3 67.5 67.9

5 ....................... 63.5 63.1 62.8 62.9 63.5 63.7 64.1

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54.1 53.7 53.5 53.6 54.2 54.3 54.8

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44.7 44.4 44.2 44.3 44.8 45.0 45.4

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35.4 35.2 35.0 35.1 35.7 35.7 36.1

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26.7 26.5 26.3 26.4 26.9 27.0 27.4

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.7 18.6 18.5 18.5 18.9 18.9 19.4

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.8 11.8 11.8 11.8 12.1 12.1 12.6

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.1 6.1 5.9 6.1 6.3 6.3 6.8

85 and over................. 2.2 2.3 2.1 2.1 2.4 2.6 2.5

1

Average number of years free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations.

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, National Health Interview Survey, and U.S. Census Bureau.
Page 14 [ Series 3, No. 34

Table 5. Expected years of life free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations at selected ages, by sex: United States, 2000–2006

Expected years of active life1

Year

Sex and age in years 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

White, both sexes

0 ....................... 66.7 66.4 66.2 66.5 66.9 66.9 67.3

1 ....................... 66.1 65.8 65.6 65.9 66.3 66.4 66.7

5 ....................... 62.3 62.0 61.8 62.1 62.6 62.6 62.9

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53.1 52.9 52.8 53.0 53.5 53.5 53.8

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44.0 43.9 43.7 43.9 44.4 44.4 44.8

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.8 34.7 34.5 34.8 35.3 35.3 35.6

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26.1 26.1 25.9 26.2 26.6 26.6 26.9

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18.2 18.2 18.2 18.3 18.7 18.6 19.0

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.5 11.6 11.6 11.7 11.9 11.9 12.3

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.9 6.0 5.9 6.1 6.3 6.3 6.6

85 and over................. 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.2 2.5 2.5 2.6

White male

0 ....................... 65.0 64.7 64.7 65.2 65.5 65.5 65.7

1 ....................... 64.4 64.2 64.1 64.6 64.9 65.0 65.1

5 ....................... 60.7 60.4 60.4 60.9 61.2 61.3 61.4

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.7 51.6 51.6 52.0 52.4 52.4 52.6

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.7 42.7 42.7 43.1 43.4 43.5 43.7

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33.7 33.7 33.7 34.1 34.4 34.5 34.7

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.1 25.1 25.2 25.5 25.8 25.9 26.0

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.2 17.3 17.5 17.8 18.0 18.1 18.3

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.8 11.0 11.1 11.3 11.5 11.6 11.8

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 5.7 5.8 6.0 6.1 6.1 6.3

85 and over................. 2.2 2.4 2.6 2.3 2.6 2.3 2.6

White female

0 ....................... 68.5 68.3 68.2 68.0 68.6 68.6 69.1

1 ....................... 67.8 67.7 67.5 67.4 68.0 67.9 68.5

5 ....................... 64.0 63.8 63.7 63.6 64.2 64.1 64.6

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54.6 54.5 54.4 54.3 54.8 54.8 55.3

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45.2 45.1 45.1 45.0 45.5 45.5 46.0

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36.0 35.9 35.8 35.8 36.3 36.2 36.7

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.2 27.1 27.1 27.0 27.6 27.4 27.9

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19.1 19.1 19.2 19.0 19.5 19.2 19.9

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.1 12.2 12.5 12.2 12.5 12.3 13.0

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 6.3 6.5 6.4 6.5 6.5 7.1

85 and over................. 2.3 2.4 2.8 2.3 2.6 2.7 2.7

1

Average number of years free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations.

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, National Health Interview Survey, and U.S. Census Bureau.
Series 3, No. 34 [ Page 15

Table 6. Expected years of life free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations at selected ages, by sex: United States, 2000–2006

Expected years of active life1

Year

Sex and age in years 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Black, both sexes

0 ....................... 60.3 59.5 60.0 59.6 60.1 61.1 61.2

1 ....................... 60.2 59.3 59.9 59.5 59.9 61.0 61.0

5 ....................... 56.5 55.7 56.2 55.7 56.2 57.3 57.4

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47.4 46.6 47.4 46.7 47.4 48.4 48.4

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38.4 37.8 38.5 37.8 38.5 39.4 39.5

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29.6 29.0 29.8 29.0 29.7 30.5 30.7

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21.4 20.8 21.6 20.8 21.4 22.3 22.4

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.3 14.2 14.7 13.7 14.5 15.4 15.3

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.8 8.8 9.2 8.5 9.2 9.9 9.7

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6 4.8 4.7 4.2 4.8 5.3 4.9

85 and over................. 1.5 2.7 1.8 1.7 2.1 2.3 1.8

Black male

0 ....................... 58.3 57.7 58.3 58.0 58.5 58.9 59.3

1 ....................... 58.2 57.7 58.3 57.9 58.4 58.9 59.2

5 ....................... 54.6 54.0 54.6 54.2 54.7 55.3 55.6

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45.7 45.2 46.0 45.4 46.2 46.7 46.9

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37.0 36.8 37.6 36.9 37.6 38.0 38.4

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28.4 28.1 29.1 28.4 28.9 29.5 29.8

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.4 20.0 21.1 20.3 20.7 21.4 21.8

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.7 13.6 14.5 13.3 14.0 14.9 14.7

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.7 8.4 9.2 8.4 9.0 9.6 9.8

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.6 4.7 5.2 4.7 5.2 5.4 5.5

85 and over................. 1.7 2.7 3.1 3.0 2.8 2.4 2.3

Black female

0 ....................... 62.2 61.4 63.1 61.5 61.8 63.5 63.4

1 ....................... 62.0 61.2 63.0 61.3 61.6 63.3 63.2

5 ....................... 58.3 57.5 59.3 57.6 57.9 59.5 59.4

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49.0 48.2 50.1 48.3 48.7 50.2 50.1

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.5 39.0 40.9 38.9 39.5 40.9 40.8

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30.6 30.1 31.8 29.9 30.6 31.8 31.8

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.2 21.8 23.5 21.6 22.1 23.5 23.3

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.9 14.9 16.6 14.4 15.0 16.2 16.0

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.9 9.4 10.9 8.8 9.4 10.3 9.9

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5 5.0 6.7 4.1 4.7 5.6 4.9

85 and over................. 1.5 2.5 3.2 1.5 1.7 2.6 1.9

1

Average number of years free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations.

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, National Health Interview Survey, and U.S. Census Bureau.
Page 16 [ Series 3, No. 34

Table 7. Expected years of active life free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations as a percentage of life expectancy at selected

ages, by sex: United States, 2000–2006

Active life as a percent of life expectancy

Year

Sex and age in years 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Both sexes

0 ....................... 86.1 85.7 85.3 85.5 85.6 85.9 85.9

1 ....................... 86.0 85.6 85.2 85.3 85.4 85.7 85.7

5 ....................... 85.4 85.0 84.6 84.7 84.9 85.2 85.2

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84.2 84.3 83.5 83.5 83.8 84.1 84.2

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.1 82.5 81.4 81.5 81.8 82.1 82.3

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79.1 79.5 78.2 78.4 78.9 79.1 79.2

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75.1 75.7 74.3 74.4 74.9 75.3 75.4

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70.1 70.9 69.6 69.4 70.1 70.3 70.8

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64.0 65.8 64.1 63.9 64.3 64.8 65.7

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53.3 56.3 52.9 53.8 54.3 54.8 56.6

85 and over................. 36.3 43.9 36.9 35.5 39.3 39.7 39.1

Male

0 ....................... 86.9 86.5 86.9 86.6 86.5 87.0 86.6

1 ....................... 86.7 86.3 86.7 86.4 86.4 86.8 86.5

5 ....................... 86.2 85.7 86.2 85.9 85.9 86.5 86.0

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85.4 85.1 85.7 85.2 85.4 86.0 85.5

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.6 83.4 84.2 83.5 83.6 84.3 83.9

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80.7 80.4 81.5 80.7 80.8 81.8 81.1

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76.9 76.7 78.2 77.0 77.1 78.4 77.4

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71.9 71.9 72.1 72.3 72.5 74.1 73.1

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66.5 66.9 67.2 67.4 67.4 68.3 68.4

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56.1 57.2 58.0 58.4 58.8 59.0 59.5

85 and over................. 40.5 43.9 45.1 41.0 45.7 40.1 44.4

Female

0 ....................... 85.5 85.0 84.6 84.5 84.8 85.2 85.3

1 ....................... 85.4 84.8 84.4 84.3 84.7 85.0 85.2

5 ....................... 84.7 84.1 83.7 83.7 84.0 84.3 84.5

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.1 82.5 82.1 82.1 82.5 82.8 83.1

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80.8 80.2 79.7 79.7 80.2 80.6 81.0

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77.7 77.0 76.4 76.5 77.2 77.3 77.8

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73.7 72.9 72.4 72.3 73.2 73.3 73.9

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68.7 68.1 67.6 67.2 68.2 68.1 69.1

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.3 62.0 61.9 61.4 62.2 62.3 63.9

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.5 51.1 49.7 51.1 51.5 52.3 55.0

85 and over................. 34.4 35.4 32.5 32.7 36.0 39.5 36.6

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, National Health Interview Survey, and U.S. Census Bureau.
Series 3, No. 34 [ Page 17

Table 8. Expected years of active life free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations as a percentage of life expectancy at selected

ages, by sex: United States, 2000–2006

Active life as a percent of life expectancy

Year

Sex and age in years 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

White, both sexes

0 ....................... 86.3 85.8 85.5 85.7 85.9 85.9 86.1

1 ....................... 86.1 85.6 85.3 85.6 85.7 85.8 85.9

5 ....................... 85.5 85.0 84.7 85.0 85.2 85.3 85.4

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84.4 84.0 83.6 83.9 84.1 84.2 84.4

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.4 82.0 81.6 81.9 82.2 82.3 82.6

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79.5 79.0 78.5 79.0 79.3 79.3 79.6

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75.7 75.2 74.7 75.1 75.6 75.5 75.9

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70.9 70.4 70.1 70.4 70.8 70.5 71.5

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64.8 64.7 64.8 65.1 65.2 65.1 66.5

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53.8 54.0 53.6 55.0 55.0 55.1 57.6

85 and over................. 37.2 38.0 37.8 36.1 39.8 39.7 41.3

White male

0 ....................... 87.0 86.5 86.4 86.9 86.8 86.9 86.8

1 ....................... 86.8 86.4 86.3 86.7 86.7 86.7 86.7

5 ....................... 86.3 85.8 85.8 86.3 86.2 86.4 86.2

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85.5 85.3 85.1 85.7 85.7 85.8 85.7

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.8 83.6 83.5 84.0 84.0 84.1 84.2

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81.0 80.7 80.6 81.3 81.4 81.5 81.4

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77.4 77.1 77.1 77.7 77.8 78.1 77.9

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72.5 72.2 72.6 73.4 73.4 73.5 73.7

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66.8 67.5 67.9 68.7 68.4 68.8 69.0

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56.2 57.8 58.8 59.6 59.9 59.8 60.2

85 and over................. 41.3 44.0 47.8 41.6 47.2 41.7 45.3

White female

0 ....................... 85.8 85.5 85.3 85.0 85.4 85.4 85.7

1 ....................... 85.6 85.3 85.1 84.8 85.2 85.2 85.6

5 ....................... 84.9 84.6 84.5 84.2 84.6 84.6 85.0

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.4 83.1 83.0 82.7 83.2 83.1 83.7

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81.2 81.0 80.8 80.5 81.0 81.0 81.6

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78.2 77.9 77.7 77.5 78.2 77.8 78.6

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74.4 74.2 74.1 73.6 74.4 73.9 75.0

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69.7 69.5 69.8 68.9 69.7 68.8 70.5

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63.4 63.6 65.1 63.4 64.0 63.2 65.8

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52.3 52.9 54.6 53.7 53.7 53.3 57.6

85 and over................. 35.3 36.6 44.1 36.0 39.0 40.6 40.3

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, National Health Interview Survey, and U.S. Census Bureau.
Page 18 [ Series 3, No. 34

Table 9. Expected years of active life free of chronic condition-induced activity limitations as a percentage of life expectancy at selected

ages, by sex: United States, 2000–2006

Active life as a percent of life expectancy

Year

Sex and age in years 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006

Black, both sexes

0 ....................... 84.0 82.6 83.3 82.4 82.6 83.9 83.6

1 ....................... 83.9 82.4 83.0 82.2 82.4 83.7 83.4

5 ....................... 83.2 81.7 82.3 81.4 81.6 83.1 82.7

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81.6 80.1 81.0 79.7 80.3 81.8 81.3

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78.7 77.4 78.6 76.8 77.6 79.2 78.8

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74.8 73.1 74.6 72.6 73.4 75.4 75.0

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69.5 67.3 69.4 66.7 67.7 70.6 70.0

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.6 61.7 63.6 58.9 61.2 65.0 63.4

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55.0 54.7 56.4 51.8 54.8 58.7 56.6

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43.8 45.6 45.0 39.3 44.5 48.9 44.5

85 and over................. 24.5 42.0 28.5 27.3 32.4 35.5 26.6

Black male

0 ....................... 85.5 84.4 85.0 84.3 84.4 85.0 85.1

1 ....................... 85.3 84.2 84.8 84.1 84.2 84.8 85.0

5 ....................... 84.7 83.5 84.2 83.3 83.6 84.4 84.5

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83.8 82.6 83.7 82.3 83.1 83.9 83.9

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81.3 80.4 82.0 80.1 80.9 81.7 82.0

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77.8 76.5 78.8 76.6 77.0 78.4 78.6

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73.0 71.0 74.5 71.4 71.9 74.1 74.6

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66.7 66.0 69.6 63.6 66.1 69.8 68.4

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61.9 59.0 64.0 58.0 60.6 64.5 65.0

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51.5 51.2 56.9 50.5 54.5 56.8 56.6

85 and over................. 31.4 49.0 57.3 52.4 48.7 41.8 39.1

Black female

0 ....................... 82.9 81.6 83.8 81.4 81.4 83.5 82.8

1 ....................... 82.7 81.4 83.6 81.2 81.2 83.2 82.6

5 ....................... 81.9 80.6 82.9 80.4 80.3 82.5 81.8

15. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79.9 78.5 81.3 78.3 78.3 80.6 79.9

25. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76.6 75.4 78.8 74.8 75.3 77.7 77.0

35. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72.4 71.1 74.9 70.3 71.0 73.8 73.1

45. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66.8 65.4 70.2 64.2 65.1 68.9 67.6

55. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59.7 59.6 65.8 56.8 58.4 62.9 61.2

65. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.7 53.2 61.8 49.4 52.0 56.8 53.1

75. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39.5 44.1 58.5 35.6 40.1 47.5 40.7

85 and over................. 21.7 37.7 47.5 22.2 25.0 38.2 26.4

SOURCES: CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, National Health Interview Survey, and U.S. Census Bureau.
Series 3, No. 34 [ Page 19

Appendix I. NHIS Questions on Chronic Condition-induced Activity

Limitations

Questions on Activity

Limitations

(1) {Are/Is} (person < 5 years old)

limited in the kind or amount of play

activities{he/she/they} can do because

of a physical, mental, or emotional

problem? {Limited in kind/amount play}

(AGE < 5; Persons < 5 years)

1 Yes 

2 No 

7 Refused 

8 Not ascertained 

9 Don’t know 

<Blank: Not in Universe> 

(2) Do any of the children under 18 in

this family receive Special Educational

or Early Intervention Services? {Does -­

receive Spec Ed or EIS?}{AGE <18;

Persons <18 years}

1 Yes 

2 No 

7 Refused 

8 Not ascertained 

9 Don’t know 

<Blank: Not in Universe> 

(3) Because of a physical, mental, or

emotional problem, {do/does} {person}

need the help of other persons with

PERSONAL CARE NEEDS, such as

eating, bathing, dressing, or getting

around inside this home? {Does -- need

help w/ADL} {AGE >=3; All person 3+

years}

1 Yes 

2 No 

7 Refused 

8 Not ascertained 

9 Don’t know 

<Blank: Not in Universe> 

(4) Because of a physical, mental, or

emotional problem, {do/does} {person}

need the help of other persons in

handling ROUTINE NEEDS, such as

everyday household chores, doing

necessary business, shopping, or getting

around for other purposes? {Need help

with IADL}{AGE > = 18; Persons 18+

years}

1 Yes

2 No

7 Refused

8 Not ascertained

9 Don’t know

<Blank: Not in Universe>

(5) Does a physical, mental, or

emotional problem NOW keep

{PERSON 18+} from working at a job

or business? {Is -- unable to work due

to health problem?} {Age >=18;

Persons 18+ years

1 Yes 

2 No 

7 Refused 

8 Not ascertained 

9 Don’t know 

<Blank: Not in Universe> 

(6) Are {you/any of these family

members (Other than the persons

mentioned)} limited in the kind OR

amount of work {you/they} can do

because of a physical, mental or

emotional problem? {Limited in

kind/amt of work} {AGE = 18+;

Persons 18+ years}

0 Unable to work 

1 Limited in work 

2 Not limited in work 

7 Refused 

8 Not ascertained 

9 Don’t know 

<Blank: Not in Universe> 

(7) Because of a health problem,

{do/does} {person} have difficulty

walking without using any special

equipment? {Difficulty walking w/o

equipment} {AGE = All; All persons}

1 Yes 

2 No 

7 Refused 

8 Not ascertained 

9 Don’t know 

(8) {Are/Is} {person} LIMITED IN

ANY WAY because of difficulty

remembering or because {you/they}

experience periods of confusion?

{Limited by difficulty remembering}

{AGE = All; All persons}

1 Yes

2 No

7 Refused

8 Not ascertained

9 Don’t know

(9) Are {person} LIMITED IN ANY

WAY in any activities because of

physical, mental or emotional problems?

{Is -- limited in ANY (other) WAY?}

{AGE = All; All persons}

0 Limitation previously mentioned

1 Yes, limited in some other way

2 Not limited in any way

7 Refused

8 Not ascertained

9 Don’t know

Questions on Chronic

Conditions as Causes of

Activity Limitations

(1) What conditions or health

problems cause [person’s] limitations?

(2) How long has [person] had

condition?
Page 20 [ Series 3, No. 34

Appendix II. Technical Notes

Estimating Expected Years

of Life

The life table is a demographic

model used to calculate the expected

number of years to be lived, if a group

of people, currently age x, lived the rest

of their lives experiencing current

mortality conditions for the rest of their

lives. The estimation of the life table

values begins with the calculation of

age-specific death rates for a given time

interval such as a year based on the

midyear population and the number of

deaths in that year. These data can be

analyzed in single years of age or 5- or

10-year age groups. The same method

can be used to construct a life table at

the national, state, or local level.

In an abridged life table, the

average death rate (nMx ) is calculated

by dividing the number of deaths

observed in each age group nDx by the

midyear population nPx of the age

group. That is,

n x M = n x n x D / P . [1]

L is given by

The total number of person-years

remaining staring at age x, Tx is the total

of all the person-years for age x and all

subsequent ages and is presented

mathematically as follows: π 

Tx = ∑ nLi , i = x

ere π is the open interval th

[5]

wh at

represents the oldest age group.

The average expected years of life (also

called life expectancy or remaining

years of life), is derived by dividing the

total person-years (Tx) by the number of

persons surviving to the beginning of

the age interval lx, and given by

e = T / l x x x . [6]

Estimating Expected Years

of Active Life (or Active

Life Expectancy)

The life table technique is a

powerful tool for estimating the

remaining years of life that a group of

The conditional probability of dying

within a given age group nqx is the

proportion of people in the age group

alive at the beginning of the age interval

that dies before reaching the next age

group. Whereas nMx is an annual death

rate, nqx is a conditional probability of

dying, this probability is estimated as:

nqx = [n x nMx] / [1 + n (1 – ax)nMx] , [2]

where ax is the average proportion of

years lived by those who died in this

age interval. The conditional probability

of dying is assumed to be 1 for the open

(oldest age) interval. If n is 5 years,

then the conditional probability of dying

is given by the following equation:

5qx = [5 x 5Mx] / [1 + 5(1 – ax)5Mx] .

The values for ax are constants derived

from a complete life table. For

single-year life table value calculations,

ax may be assumed to be 0.5.

Having calculated the conditional

probability of dying, one can now

calculate the probability of surviving to

an exact age at the beginning of each

age interval. In the life table, this is

expressed as the number of persons

surviving to exact age (or the exact age

at the beginning of an age interval when

group data are used), starting with an

assumed cohort population (l0)

frequently expressed as 100,000 at birth.

For any other age x, the number of

survivors at that age lx can be

calculated. Hence, the number alive at

exact age x + n, (lx + n) is calculated by

multiplying the number of survivors at

exact age x (lx) by the probability of

surviving from age x to x + n, (1 – nqx)

or:

lx+n = lx (1 – nqx) . [3]

The total number of person-years lived

for those people who were alive at the

beginning of the age interval x to x + n

is then the sum of the total number of

years lived by individuals surviving to

the end of the age interval plus the total

number of years lived by those who

died in the age interval. Mathematically,

this is presented as follows:

L = n[l + a (l – (1–x+n)] . [4] n x x+n x x

In the example presented here, n = 5 and

the value of 5 x

5Lx = 5[lx+5 + ax (lx – (lx+5)] .

persons would be expected to live once

they had reached a certain age.

Regardless of their age, the remaining

years of life might be lived in optimal

health or in a health state that is

considered less than optimal or in a

health state that could be a combination

of both states of health.

The traditional life table technique

cannot be used to estimate the part of

life that is expected to be spent in a

health state that is considered to be

optimal and the part in a less than

optimal health state. The total number of

expected years of life is partitioned into

years with optimal health and years with

a health state considered to be less than

optimal using health status data. Health

status data from a health survey or a

clinical study are used to calculate the

prevalence of different health states.

Individuals in a survey or a clinical

study are then categorized into groups

based on their health status at the time

of the survey or the clinical study.

Prevalence rates may be calculated for

those individuals with optimal health

state and those with less than optimal

health state or for more groups of

individuals if a multidimensional scaling

is used to describe more than two health

states.

In this report, the prevalence of

chronic condition-induced activity

limitations (nπx) is calculated. Because

nπx represents the prevalence of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations,

(1 – nπx) represents the prevalence of a

health state free of chronic conditioninduced activity limitations.

Because nLx is the total number of

person-years lived for the population in

age interval x to x + n (equation 4), the

proportion of these years lived in a state

free of chronic condition-induced

activity limitations (nL′ 

x) is given by

nL′ 

x = (1 – nπx)nLx . [7]

One of the following two equations

can be used to determine active life

expectancy (ALE). ALE or active life

(e

′ 

x) at age x is defined as the remaining

years of life that are free of chronic

condition-induced activity limitations:
ex

� = l

1

∑ nLi

′ 

, x i = x

π 

[8]

or

�

π 

e = 1

∑ (1– πi

) Li , x l n n x i = x

′i ′j ′j [e – e ] ′i ]–[e – e 06 00 06 00 Z =

√[

√(si )

2 + (si )2

]

2 + [√(sj )2 + (sj )2

]

2

06 00 06 00

[9]

where

ex

′ is the remaining years free of chronic 

condition-induced activity limitations for 

persons who have reached age x; 

lx is the number of survivors at age x; 

(1 – nπx) represents the age-specific 

prevalence of a health state free of 

chronic condition-induced activity 

limitations; 

nLx is the total number of years lived by 

a cohort in the age interval (x,x+ n); 

and π is the oldest age category. 

The expected years of life with

chronic condition-induced activity

limitations is e – e

′ 

x. However, if

multiple health states are described, the

prevalence for each of those states must

be calculated. Equation 8 or 9 can be

used to estimate separately the expected

years of life in those health states.

Formulas for Variance of

Active Life and Z-score

Test

The variance of expected years free

of chronic condition-induced active life

is estimated based on formula 10 below

(39). S2 and nπi are calculated using

SUDAAN (40) to account for sample

design effect: π 1

An illustrative example of variance

estimation using the formula is

presented in a statistical report published

by the National Center for Health

Statistics (41). Expected gains for the

white and black populations at age 25,

45, and 65 are presented in Table C.

Group differences in gains of expected

years free of chronic condition-induced

Series 3, No. 34 [ Page 21

VAR(e

′ 

x) = 2 ∑ [ nL2i S2

(1– nπi)]. [10] l i = x x

activity limitation during the 7-year

period were tested using the following

z-score equation:

[11]

where

e′ represents the expected years of life

free of chronic condition-induced

activity limitations; s is the standard

error of the expected years of life free

of chronic condition-induced activity

limitations;

i and j represent population subgroups;

and 00 and 06 stand for the years 2000

and 2006.
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