Figure 4. Illusion of compressed morbidity in people with exceptional longevity.

See Figure 1A for symbols. (A) Everyone (an average person). No health care. (B) Everyone (an average person). Current health care. Improvements in health care drive lifespan by increasing morbidity span. (C) Exceptional longevity due to slow aging and extended healthspan. Because diseases develop at older chronological age, they are not diagnosed or treated. The morbidity span is comparable to those shown in panel A. So, compression is relative to panel B. If health care would be applied according to biological, not chronological age, then lifespan would be extended: dashed line.