Résumé :
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[BDSP. Notice produite par INIST-CNRS IlimR0xy. Diffusion soumise à autorisation]. Objective : The purpose of the paper is to compare the health status of the population of the Flemish and the Walloon Region of Belgium using a set of health expectancy indicators : the Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE), the Disability Free Life Expectancy (DFLE) and the Mental Life Expectancy (MLE). Methods : The Sullivan method was used to calculate the health expectancies combining data of the 1997 health interview survey with the National Mortality Database. The information on subjective health (WHO-Europe instrument) and mental well-being (GHQ-12) was obtained through the self-administrated questionnaire. The instrument to measure disability (WHO-Europe instrument) was part of the face-to-face interview of the 1997 health interview survey. The variance on the differences in the health expectancies was estimated in order to make statistical inference. Results : Among men at age 25 year, the difference observed between the two regions is more than two years in life expectancy (LEFlem : 50.4 year - vs-LEWall : 48.1 year) and in disability free life expectancy (DFLEFlem : 39.1 year - vs-DfLEWall : 37.0 year). The differences are even greater, respectively 4.4 years and 5.3 years, for the mental life expectancy (MLEFlem : 38. 6 year - vs-MLEwall : 34.2 year) and for the healthy life expectancy (HLEFlem : 39.5 year - vs-HLEWall : 34.2 year). In women at age 25 years the life expectancy and all 3 health expectancy indicators are greater in the Flemish region. The differences are respectively 1.1 years (LEFlem : 56. 1 year - vs-LEWall : 55.0 year) and 3.8 years (DFLEFlem : 40.4 year - vs-DFLEwall : 36.6 year), 6.3 years (MLEFlem : 39.1 year - vs-MLEWall : 32.8 year) ; HLEFlem : 39.8 year - vs-HLEWall : 33.5 year). All these differences were statistically significant. Conclusions : Overall, compared to the Walloon region, people living in the Flemish region not only live longer but also tend to be healthier while doing so : they live more years in good perceived health, more years without functional limitations and more years in good mental well-being. Not only socio-economic differences but especially differences in life style (among others smoking, leisure time physical activity, nutritional habits) may be potential factors causing the described differences.
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