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> As people get older they begin to develop the diseases of old age and have an increasingly pain-filled life.

So, not longevity, then, but extension of the span of healthy life?



Yes, you're correct. Many researchers in the field prefer the phrasing 'human health', the consequence of which is human longevity.


Don't they go hand in hand?


Not necessarily. There are science fiction stories about extension of youth without extension of lifespan, and ancient myths about people cursed to live a long time without youth.

It's possible to imagine health-extending treaments (artificial joints and organs (heart), lung flushes) that don't extend lifespan). We already have treatments that can extend people's lives without health. (Unsuccessful chemotherapy, for one; insulin for type 2 diabetes mellitus, for another.)


Correct!

Usually people imply extending both healthspan and lifespan when they talk about longevity.




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