We propose a new summary measure of population health (SMPH) to which we refer as “Well-being Adjusted Health Expectancy” (WAHE). WAHE combines health and mortality information into a single index by applying weights based on subjective well-being in different health states. 

In the empirical part of the study, we test WAHE’s sensitivity to single- and multi-dimensional specification of states across the three health domains of the Minimum European Health Module. The data for 26 European countries come from the SILC  and Human Mortality Database for 2017.  WAHE estimates are compared with health expectancies and DALE from GBD.

The distribution of WAHE is characterized by the highest and significant correlation with all other commonly used SMPH and by a similar level with health specified on a single or simultaneously across multiple domains. The preferred specification is WAHE based on self-perceived health, as it demonstrates the highest  correlation with all other SMPH.