  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.
