Low-Tech Longevity Investments Could Unlock $5.8 Trillion in Healthcare Savings, Report Finds

Simple home safety improvements could unlock trillions of dollars in healthcare savings, new World Economic Forum research finds.The research finds three low-tech interventions could save the world’s healthcare systems more than $5.8 trillion and unlock another $645 billion in productivity by 2040. The suggested changes include fall-proofing homes, increasing levels of physical activity, and expanding the use of hearing aids.This insight report, The Longevity Dividend: The Business Case for Linking Health and Wealth, compiled a quantitative analysis across 21 countries to underscore the business case for understanding longevity as an opportunity to improve lifelong physical and financial health.The study says recognizing the interactions between health and wealth is critical to effectively addressing the challenges and opportunities that arise in an ageing world. Individuals in good health tend to have lower health costs and fewer workforce exits.“Poor health is costly,” the report states. “It increases healthcare costs and contributes to workforce exits. These pressures drive financial instability, which undermines good health. Without financial resilience, individuals have less time and money to invest in health, which results in higher levels of stress. The result is poor health,” the authors continue.Researchers say that the number of people aged over 65 worldwide will increase by more than 50 percent by 2040 — rising from 856 million to 1.3 billion — and is increasing fastest in traditionally “young” countries like Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Malaysia. The researchers say the economic consequences of an aging population develop slowly but the impacts are enormous.The report’s authors say longevity represents one of the most consequential, addressable, and underestimated potential drivers of economic growth. In America alone, fatal and non-fatal falls cost more than an estimated $50 billion in annual healthcare costs in 2015.Many older adults live in homes they purchased decades ago, which often lack adaptations that address their changing needs. Data show low-tech fixes like grab bars, non-slip mats, and raised toilet seats in the bathroom are among the simple fixes that can improve safety. Brighter LED lights with motion-sensor night lights, minor carpentry, and handrails are other suggested changes.The report finds retrofitting homes in China, America, and Japan would offer the largest cumulative financial benefits. Small home improvements made today will deliver significant returns on investment by 2040 and would add on average five months of health span per person, according to the report.“The interventions may sound basic, but they create a major ask of today’s decision-makers: namely, to reframe health and wealth not as isolated policy domains but as integrated questions of longevity,” the World Economic Forum’s lead for longevity economy, Haleh Nazeri said in a release.The report cited a growing type 2 diabetes problem across the globe. The number of people living with diabetes has nearly tripled in the past 30 years and is also rapidly growing in costs to the world economy. The report’s authors suggest that more is needed to done to promote physical exercise. The research shows that by increasing moderate physical activity by two hours each week — walking, cycling, swimming, or running — more than 8.5 million new global cases of type 2 diabetes could be prevented by 2040. More than 3.2 million of those new cases could be prevented in China alone.The final suggested fix is increasing the use of hearing aids. The report says untreated hearing loss is tied to dementia. The study finds that hearing loss forces the brain to work harder to listen, and the impairment detracts from other cognitive functions, causing the brain to atrophy more quickly and, often, social engagement to decline. Globally, an estimated 400 million people could benefit from hearing aids but fewer than 20 percent have access to them.Social stigma around wearing them also limits adoption. But dementia is a leading cause of care dependency among older adults and research shows that investment in hearing aids can emerge as a driver of economic growth.The authors of the study recommend requiring hearing screenings and similar preventative measures become part of regular check-ups starting at age 50.

Low-Tech Longevity Investments Could Unlock $5.8 Trillion in Healthcare Savings, Report Finds

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