Life expectancy in Italy is higher than anywhere else in the European Union but old people are not spending their old age in good health, a report by The Lancet revealed Monday.
The study by researchers from the University of Leicester shows that Italian men are the most long-lived in the EU, with an average life expectancy of 80.4, while Italian women, at 85.4, are beaten only by the French.
But the report shows that Italy drops behind in the league when comparing how much time elderly people spend without any health problems.
Italians have an average of 20 years of good health in front of them after they hit 50, compared to league-leader Denmark, where men can look forward to 23.6 years without health problems, and women 24.1 years.
Commenting on the report, Emanuele Scafato of Italy's Higher Health Institute's population health department said elderly Italians frequently suffer from cardiovascular, bone and joint problems as well as dementia.
''In fact the last 3-5 years of life are lived in illness for women, while mental health is also deteriorating. Dementia is increasing, and around 60% of all prescription drugs are consumed by the over 60s,'' Scafato added.
The president of the Italian Society of Gerontologists, Roberto Bernabei, said the report also highlighted the ''worrying'' statistic that Italy spends just 0.12% of its GDP on helping the elderly, among the lowest in the EU. At the other end of the scale, Sweden spends 2.57% of GDP.
Bernabei said Italy also has the fewest services available for the elderly in Europe.
Only 2% of over 65s are in assisted accommodation, and only 1% have home help, while in all other EU countries both figures are over 5%.
