Description: A recent study sheds light on the measurement and implications of the relationship between increased morbidity and declining disability. The results were not consistent across all populations. This study of the compression of morbidity is part of a wider project called the M-project, led by the four authors, which aims to explore the demographic factors leading to an increase in the adult longevity, investigate the phenomenon called the compression of mortality and develop a new methodological approach to longevity analysis with focus on the modal age at death M.

Description: This paper reviews available evidence about the compression of morbidity and the disability decline and discusses the context in which they occur: initial level of disability, initial value of life expectancy and trend in life expectancy.

Description: This paper reviews available evidence about the compression of morbidity and the disability decline and discusses the context in which they occur: initial level of disability, initial value of life expectancy and trend in life expectancy.

Description: Recent reviews of national health trends show conflicting results. It is clear today that the various health dimensions follow different trends over time. For instance, an expansion of morbidity may accompany a compression of disability. What do we measure when we observe a decline in disability? Is the elderly population intrinsically healthier or are individuals more independent and less helped by children, using more technical devices in a more favorable environment?

Description: This paper reviews available evidence about the compression of morbidity and the disability decline and discusses the context in which they occur: initial level of disability, initial value of life expectancy and trend in life expectancy.

Description: The abstract for the paper Seasons and Longevity: Mortality Trajectories among the Oldest Old.

Description: Mortality in general, and especially amongst the oldest old, is known to be partially shaped by seasons: winter is classically characterized by excess mortality. We therefore put forward the use of season-related life tables to study the mortality trajectories of the oldest old. This approach can be used to explore the plasticity of longevity, by opposing winter and summer trajectories. Furthermore, summerrelated life tables summarize the best conditions of mortality, i.e., the lowest values and the least fluctuating pattern. Results are presented for Switzerland, where season-related life tables have been computed until age 110.