Poor now die 10 yrs earlier
Worsening health inequality is ‘deeply worrying’, study warns
Foodbank THE poorest now die 10 years before the richest as the gap in life expectancy widens.
Stagnant wages, austerity, reliance on foodbanks, bad diets and health inequalities are blamed.
The poorest under-fives are 2.5 times more likely to die as children compared to the richest.
Conditions that lead to particu- larly early graves include heart disease, cancers and dementia.
Senior author Professor Majid Ezzati, at Imperial College London, warned: “Life expectancy inequality has increased steadily in England since the 1980s.”
The study found the gap in women was 7.9 years in 2016, from 78.8 for the poorest to an average of 86.7 in the richest. For men, the gap was 9.7 years, with the most affluent dying at 83.7.
Prof Ezzati said a drop of 0.24 years in life expectancy among the poorest women since 2011 is a “deeply worrying indicator”. Tell us what you think: yourvoice@mirror.co.uk