Declining trends of healthy life years expectancy (HLYE) in Europe

We examine the trends in Healthy Life Years Expectancy (HLYE) at birth during the past few decades in Europe. We observe that several European countries show a significant drop in HLYE at birth starting from 2003; interrupting what had been a previous continuous increase. We discuss the possible causes of this drop, including a possible correlation with climate change in terms of the heat wave experienced in Europe in 2003. It is not possible, at present, to propose a single explanation for this phenomenon, however the trend is worrisome and its causes should be investigated further.