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Concepts & theories

Healthspan

DEGesundheitsspanne

Healthspan is the period of life spent in good health, free from serious chronic disease and major functional impairment. It is conceptually distinct from lifespan, which counts total years lived. In longevity research healthspan is increasingly preferred as an outcome because the goal is to compress the years of frailty and disease at the end of life. Operational definitions vary and may use disease-free survival, disability indices or composite biomarker scores.