Key points from article :
Number of people living with major illnesses in England will rise nine times faster than the healthy working age population.
By 2040 nearly one in five will have health conditions such as dementia and cancer, up from one in six in 2019.
The Health Foundation said the population shift would have a major impact on the NHS.
There will be 9.1 million people with a major health condition by 2040, a 37% rise in the latest data from 2019.
By comparison, the number of healthy working-age people will increase by just 4%.
Most of the increase is driven by the ageing population, but there will be growing numbers of young people living in ill health too.
Particularly big increases in people living with anxiety and depression, chronic pain and diabetes.
Obesity is one of the major factors that will drive rises in illnesses.
"Over the next two decades, the growth in major illness will place additional demand on all parts of the NHS," - Anita Charlesworth, lead researcher.
While living with a major health condition would not necessarily exclude everyone from the workforce, many would be excluded.
Study by the Health Foundation published in the BMJ.
