Life expectancies and deprivation
Here is a recent statistical bulletin by the ONS looking at differences in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy between people living in the most deprived and least deprived areas in England between 2009-2013, using the 2015 indices.
Some headline points:
- England average life expectancy at birth for men was 79.1 years, and men born in the least deprived areas had a life expectancy 7.9 years higher than those born in the most deprived areas.
- Average life expectancy at birth for women was higher at 83 years, with a smaller gap (5.9 years) between most and least deprived.
- The gap between men and women was closer with healthy life expectancy as this was 63.5 years for males and 64.8 years for females.
- However the difference in outcomes between the most and least deprived areas was much higher than simple life expectancy at birth, with a gap of 16.7 years among men and 16.8 years for women.
- There was little change in inequalities for both life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy between the 1999-2003 period and the 2009-2013, although outcomes improved in absolute terms for both.
The ONS have produced a complementary article ‘How long will you live in good health?’ which features some interesting results and has an interactive chart of inequality in healthy life expectancy for local authorities, as well as a healthy life expectancy map for England.
