City dwellers dying five years earlier

Life expectancy for males in Dundee is less than for those in Angus

People in Dundee are expected to live five years fewer than those living a few miles away in Angus.

National Records of Scotland figures reveal that life expectancy for men in Dundee has fallen at a faster rate than anywhere else in Scotland.

Males born today in Dundee West, which has some of the most deprived areas in Scotland, are expected to live to 73. The Angus equivalent is 78.

Drug deaths in Dundee have rocketed in recent years, but Labour MSP Jenny Marra for North

East Scotland said that cannot solely be blamed.

She said: “This can’t be separated from the drugs crisis, but it is also a wider picture of fewer jobs and the knock-on effect that has on people’s physical and mental health.”

Life expectancy for men in Dundee has fallen at a faster rate than anywhere in Scotland.

Males born today in Dundee West, which includes some of the most deprived areas of Scotland, are expected to live five years less than their Angus counterparts just a few miles away.

The figures, from a recent report by National Records of Scotland, show that an increase in life expectancy across Scotland between 2012-14 has stalled or reduced.

Males born today in Dundee are expected to live to reach age 73 and females to live to 79. Across Scotland, the figures are 77 and 81 respectively.

The male life expectancy for Angus is 78, while in Fife it is 77 and in Perth and Kinross it is 79.

Females in Angus and Fife are expected to live to 81, and 82 in Perth and Kinross.

Twenty weeks has been shaved off life expectancy of men in Dundee when compared to 2012 and 2014 figures.

Females in Dundee also saw a steady growth in life expectancy stall in recent years by 10 weeks.

Jenny Marra, Labour MSP for North East Scotland, said drug deaths in Dundee, which have rocketed in recent years, cannot be solely blamed.

“The fact that Dundee has the fastest falling life expectancy for men in Scotland is a tragic indicator of the change we need in this city,” she said.

“This can’t be separated from the drugs crisis, but it is also a wider picture of fewer jobs, and the knock-on effect that has on people’s physical and mental health.

“I will continue to campaign for more jobs and stronger public services for Dundee but the politicians who were voted in (last week) also have to outline their plans to turn this around.”

Dundee City Council leader John Alexander said: “We continue to grapple with long-term and stubborn issues like poverty, obesity, drugs, alcohol and a higher rate of illness in younger age brackets.”

The SNP councillor hopes a number of measures his administration is taking will help turn around Dundee’s fortunes.

He added: “Initiatives like the green health prescribing, physical activity strategy, work to reduce poverty, the success in cutting fuel poverty by 7%, and works to create more jobs at the likes of Michelin and the port of Dundee are all important.

Nobody from NHS Tayside was available for comment but Gerry Mccartney, head of NHS Scotland’s public health observatory, said: “Life expectancy not only gives an indication of how long people are likely to live, but also serves as a warning light for the public’s health.

“With a concerted effort, based on the best available evidence, I believe it is possible to reverse the trends we’ve highlighted and create a fairer, healthier Scotland for all.”

Paul Lowe, chief executive of National Records of Scotland and Registrar General for Scotland, said: “The figures show that the stall in life expectancy growth which we have seen for Scotland as a whole is happening in almost all areas across Scotland.”

A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “The fact that in 2017 life expectancy fell for the first time since the 1980s is a concern, particularly given the likely impact of UK Government austerity and welfare cuts on the poorest and most vulnerable...

“We are continuing our work to improve life expectancy across Scotland by implementing our package of measures to tackle key issues such as smoking, obesity, inactivity and alcohol misuse.”

MSP Jenny Marra.