Life-death lottery

Years lost in deprived suburbs

The lifespans of urban Queenslanders can vary by as much as 30 years depending on which suburb they live in, a new study has revealed.

In greater Brisbane, the suburbs of Centenary and Springfield Lakes stood out at opposite ends of the spectrum. In the former, the median age at death was 87, whereas in the latter it was just 57.

In North Lakes and Mango Hill, a similar distance from central Brisbane compared to Springfield Lakes, people’s median life span was 84 years.

Professor John Glover from Torrens University, which released the data, said many factors were at play, including socio-economic disadvantage, as influenced by unemployment, education, access to housing, and income.

Nearby aged-care facilities tended to raise the median life span, whereas problems like youth traffic accidents skewed the numbers lower.

“However, the strong influence of socio-economic disadvantage is clearly evident in the pattern of potential years of life lost across Brisbane’s suburbs, with deaths of young males of note in several outer suburbs,” Professor Glover said.

Statewide, women tend to live between six and seven years longer than men, similar to the national experience, according to the study by the university’s Public Health Information Development Unit.

Regional Queenslanders did not experience the same discrepancy as the city. The difference between the bush location with the highest median death age and the lowest was 19 years.

In Clear Island Waters and Merrimac, the median life span was 86 years, compared to the regional low point of 67 years in Mount Isa. Other regional Queensland places where people tend to live long lives included Benowa, Bundall, and Buderim.

Some of the shortest life spans nationwide were found in the mining town of Newman, WA, where people generally live to be only 45 years old, and the lands of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara peoples in South Australia, where the median life span was 53.