Time for your check-up

Average life expectancy at birth in OECD countries rises by about 3 to 4 months a year. In 2013, it broke through the 80-year mark, reaching about 80½ years.

University graduates live on average about 6 years longer than people who haven’t completed secondary education. But the gap is even wider between higher and lower educated men – about 8 years. The longer lifespans of wealthier people can be explained by several factors – better living conditions and nutrition, better access to services, etc.

About 1 in 5 adults are smokers in OECD countries, well down on the figure of slightly over 1 in 4 in 2000. Smoking rates are declining in almost all OECD countries.

About a fifth of healthcare spending goes on drugs, equivalent to about $800 billion in OECD countries in 2013. Spending on pharmaceuticals hasn’t changed much in recent years. However the proliferation of expensive new speciality drugs is expected to put increasing pressure on health spending.

Men accounted for almost three-quarters of the 100,000 road deaths in OECD countries in 2013. Roads deaths have been declining, but – as most fatalities and injuries are preventable – they’re still too high.

Women are generally less likely than men to report being in good health. There are big variations between countries in how people perceive their health: In New Zealand, 90% of people say their health in general is good or very good; in Korea and Japan, only 35% give the thumbs up.

Specialists outnumber generalists by more than 2 to 1. Some countries are seeing only very slow growth in the number of generalists, raising concerns about their ability to provide primary healthcare.

Correct. About half of older people get a flu shot in OECD countries, but the proportion rises to more than three-quarters in some countries – Mexico, Korea, Chile and the United Kingdom. Worldwide, between a quarter and half a million people die from flu each year.

On average, patients spend about 8 days in hospital, a duration that has fallen in most countries; in 2000, it was 10 days. Shorter stays are usually more cost efficient, but this needs to be balanced against the potential risks to patients’ recovery and comfort if they are sent home too soon.

Outpatient care accounts for 33% of OECD countries’ health expenditure, followed closely by inpatient care (28%). Health spending grew in the 2000s, but it slowed in most OECD countries following the economic crisis.

Caesarean sections account for just under 28% of births in OECD countries, a proportion that’s been rising almost everywhere. Reasons include “the rise in first births among older women and in multiple births resulting from assisted reproduction,” says Health at a Glance 2015, “malpractice liability concerns, scheduling convenience for both physicians and patients, and the preferences of some women”.

More than a third of adults (35%) are estimated to be obese in the U.S., but some other countries are not too far behind. In Australia, the proportion is 28%, in New Zealand it’s 31% and in Mexico it’s 32%.