Over the past few decades there's been a marked shift in quality-of-life-related research so that it focuses not just on lifespan, but also healthspan.
In the 20th century in particular, life expectancy around the world has increased dramatically, from a global average of 31-32 years in 1900 to 45.7-48 years in 1950 to 72.6-73.2 years in 2020 (and it's been higher than that for most of the past decade, but the COVID-19 pandemic dropped the average a bit in many countries for that latter time period).
There are many of reasons for this increased lifespan, from fewer persistent, deadly conflicts to the emergence of germ theory, antibiotics, and modern sterilization practices.
But as one's potential maximum age-ceiling has increased, one’s healthspan—which in this context means how many years a person is healthy and cognitively aware enough to live life as they choose, rather than being debilitated by age-related ailments—hasn't expanded at the same clip.
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