People in North ‘have shorter life expectancy’

Life expectancy in many communities was declining even before the pandemic, according to new figures.

From 2014 until 2019 life expectancy went down in almost one in five communities for women, and one in nine communities for men, Imperial College London (ICL) researchers have found.

The ICL researchers found communities with the lowest life expectancy - below 70 and 75 years for men and women, respectively - were typically in urban areas in the North.

Communities with the highest life expectancies were often based in London and the surrounding home counties.

The study, published in The Lancet Public Health, analysed all deaths for all years from 2002-2019.

Recent data from the Office for National Statistics found that life expectancy for men had fallen for the first time in 40 years due to the pandemic, but the new research shows that life expectancy was declining years before the pandemic began.

The study's senior author, Professor Majid Ezzati from ICL's School of Public Health, said: “There has always been an impression in the UK that everyone's health is improving, even if not at the same pace. These data show that longevity has been getting worse for years in large parts of England. Declines in life expectancy used to be rare in wealthy countries like the UK and happened when there were major adversities like wars and pandemics. For such declines to be seen in 'normal times' before the pandemic is alarming.”

He added: "To level up health, the Government must make significant investments in people, communities and health services in many communities."