Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy of Korean registered disabled by disability type in 2014–2018: Korea National Rehabilitation Center database

BACKGROUND: Conducting a distinct comparison between the life expectancy (LE) and healthy life expectancy (HALE) of people with disabilities (PWDs) and the general population is necessary due to the various environmental and health conditions they encounter. Therefore, this study aimed to develop the life table for PWDs and calculate those of LE and HALE based on sex, severity, and disability types among the registered Korean PWDs. METHODS: We used aggregated data of registered PWDs from the Korea National Rehabilitation Center database between 2014 and 2018. Overall, 345,595 deaths were included among 12,627,428 registered PWDs. First, we calculated the LE for total PWDs and non-disabled people using a standard life table, extending the old age mortality among nine models. Subsequently, we calculated the LE for each type of disability using the relationship between the mortality of total PWDs and those of each type of disability. Finally, HALE was calculated using the Sullivan method for three types as follows: disability-free and perceived health (PH) using the National Survey, and hospitalized for ≥ 7 days using the Korea National Health Insurance System (NHIS) database. RESULTS: The calculated LE/HALE–NHIS (years) at registration in males and females were 81.32/73.32 and 87.38/75.58, 68.54/58.98 and 71.43/59.24, 73.87/65.43 and 78.25/67.51, and 61.53/50.48 and 62.41/49.72 years among non-disabled, total PWDs, mild disabled, and severe disabled, respectively. LE/HALE-NHIS was lowest and highest in respiratory dysfunction and hearing disabilities, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Males with disabilities had shorter LE and HALE at registration than females, except for those with severe disabilities, and there were variabilities in the LE based on the disability types. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-023-16682-9.