References

Health inequalities: what can be done?

02 March 2020
Volume 31 · Issue 3

The Marmot Review 10 Years On (Marmot et al, 2020) report makes for grim reading. For the first time in over 100 years, life expectancy in England has failed to increase, and for the poorest 10% of women it has declined. The report found that health inequalities have widened, and the amount of time people spend in poor health has increased in the last decade. Although the report was based on findings in England, this is a UK-wide problem—it is believed that similar results can be seen in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Previous theories had suggested that the slowdown in life expectancy increases had occurred due to severe winters or particularly bad flu. This report dispels that idea: more than 80% of the slowdown results from influences other than winter-associated mortality. Part of this is that mortality rates have increased for people aged 45-49. So-called ‘deaths of despair’ caused by alcohol and drug misuse and suicide have been observed in the US and it is thought England may be experiencing a similar phenomenon in this age group.

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