The Government has published its renewed Women’s Health Strategy.
People living in the most deprived areas of England and Wales can expect to spend around 20 fewer years of their life in good health than those in the least deprived parts, according to new data.
Those in the areas of greatest deprivation in the two nations are spending less than 50 years of their lives in good health, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) research showed.
The latest data came on the same day as the Government published its renewed Women’s Health Strategy, which commits to reversing the overall decline in healthy life expectancy and improving healthy life expectancy in the poorest parts of the country.
While boys born in 2022 to 2024 in more affluent parts of England can expect to spend around 69.2 years (or 83%) of their lives in good health, those in the most deprived areas are likely to have just 49.8 years (or 68% of their life) in good health, the ONS said.
Girls born in those years in better-off areas can expect to spend 68.5 years (or 79%) of their lives in good health, while those in areas of greatest deprivation would have just 48.2 years (or 62%) of their lives in good health.
The ONS said inequality of healthy life expectancy at birth between the most and least deprived areas of England was 19.3 years for males and 20.1 years for females.
In Wales, boys born between 2022 and 2024 in the most deprived areas can expect 49.7 years of healthy life expectancy, compared with 67.8 years for those in the least deprived areas, while for females it is 47.3 years compared with 66.3 years.
Inequality of healthy life expectancy at birth between the most and least deprived areas of Wales was 20.6 years for males and 23.1 years for females.
The ONS said while there is “cautious evidence of an increase in inequality” since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, “the trend is very uncertain because of overlapping confidence intervals”.
Greg Ceely, head of population life events at the ONS, said: “People in the most deprived areas are now spending less than 50 years of their lives in good health.
“Healthy lifespan has decreased at all levels of deprivation, but inequality remains high.
“If you live in the most deprived areas, you’ll still have around 20 fewer healthy years than someone in the least deprived areas.”
Overall life expectancy at birth for boys born between 2022 and 2024 in the most deprived areas of England is 73.2 years and 78.3 years for girls, while boys living in the least deprived areas have a life expectancy of 83.6 years and for girls it is 86.4 years, the ONS said.
In Wales, life expectancy at birth for boys in the most deprived areas is 73.6 and 78.4 years for girls, compared with 81.9 years for boys and 85.1 years for girls in the least deprived areas.
The Health Equals organisation said Government’s goal to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions looks “more distant than ever”.
The Government’s strategy, focused on women’s health and published on Wednesday, has vowed to improve healthy life expectancy in the poorest parts of the country to at least 61 years from 50.5 years and to reduce the time women spend in poor health.
Paul McDonald, its chief campaigns officer, said: “Let’s not forget that behind these latest statistics are real people with families, loved ones, jobs and ambitions, whose chances of living a long, healthy life are cut short because of things out of their control.
“And this data also shows that England’s poorest areas have lower life expectancy than they did before the pandemic – this is shocking and unacceptable.
“Health isn’t one dimensional. It’s shaped by the world around us, including our homes, workplaces, and communities. Putting our health first means joining the dots between them.
“That’s why Health Equals is calling for a Government-wide plan to tackle health inequalities and give everyone an equal chance of being in good health for longer.”
