West Sussex people live longer, but it’s not all good news

ALTHOUGH more people are living longer in West Sussex, more of their life is being spent with conditions such as dementia.

A report to county councillors said that last year, there were an estimated 162,500 people aged 65 or over in West Sussex, with 26,000 of them aged 85 and over.

But, the county adults’ services select committee was informed, it was estimated that by 2016, there would be 185,000 people aged 65 or over, with 31,000 being very elderly – 85 years or over.

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The report said that life expectancy had increased at a greater rate than “disability-free life expectancy”, i.e., people are living longer, but spend a greater proportion of their life living with a disability or long-term condition.

Within the next 10 years, it is projected there will be approximately an additional 2,900 people living with coronary heart disease, an additional 4,100 people living with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and an additional 3,200 people living with dementia.

The report continued that an ageing population would result in “increased numbers of people living with chronic kidney disease, living with sensory impairments, mobility problems, and across all ages, higher numbers of people who are obese and increasing numbers of people living with diabetes”.

The numbers of people living with a learning disability is projected to increase over the next 10-20 years, and this rise is estimated to be higher than simple population increase, as more people will live longer with complex conditions and with learning disabilities.

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“Currently, there are an estimated 3,000 people with a moderate or severe learning disability; this is projected to increase by over 300 within the next 15 years,” said the report.

On working-age mental ill-health, the report said the overall prevalence for mental health problems in working-age adults is around 24 per cent of the population. Studies suggested a 45 per cent lifetime risk of experiencing an episode of clinical depression in women, and a 27 per cent risk in men.

“It has been estimated, on the basis of the prevalence of ‘psychotic’ mental illness alone, that mental illness will be the most common cause of disability in the worldwide adult population by the year 2020,” said the report.