The increase of the percentage of elderly population in Brazil and the increase in longevity incite a demand for information on the quantity of years spent in good health. The aim of the present study is to measure the life expectancy for the elderly of 60 years and above, by sex and age, in the year of 2003. The Sullivan method was used, which combined the life-table with the current experience of mortality and the self-perceived health. The mortality information was obtained from the life tables published by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics), 2003. The self-perceived health was used and it was dichotomized in good and bad. This information came from the National Research of Household Sample (PNAD), 2003. The results indicate that women live longer, but spend a higher number of years perceiving their health as bad, as compared to men. The results also highlights to the need of considering the differences between sexes in relation to the demand for health care. It is also important to consider the need to have policies designed to allow the increase in the number of years that the elderly can live in good health conditions.
Health life expectancy; Elderly; Self-assessed health; PNAD 2003
