Poorer people in the UK die a decade younger than the rich
Women from poor communities can now expect to die three months earlier than they did in 2011
THE POOREST people in the UK die almost a decade younger than the wealthiest, new research has found.
Experts at Imperial College London say that a "perfect storm" of stagnating wages and benefits cuts have led to the gap in life expectancy between rich and poor in England widening.
They found that the country's poorest women are more likely to die three months earlier today than in 2011.
Researchers analysed Office for National Statistics data on all 7.65 million deaths recorded in England between 2001 and 2016.
And they found that the country's poorest women are expected to live to 78.8 years (at least in 2016) compared to 86.7 years in the most affluent group.
For men, the life expectancy was 74.0 years among the poorest, compared to 83.8 years among the richest.
Senior author Professor Majid Ezzati said: "Falling life expectancy in the poorest communities is a deeply worrying indicator of the state of our nation's health and shows that we are leaving the most vulnerable out of the collective gain.
"We currently have a perfect storm of factors that can impact on health, and that are leading to poor people dying younger.
"The funding squeeze for health and cuts to local government services since 2010 have also had a significant impact on the most deprived communities, leading to treatable diseases such as cancer being diagnosed too late or people dying sooner from conditions like dementia."
Illnesses like respiratory diseases, heart disease, lung and digestive cancers and dementia all affected the life expectancy in poorer communities compared to rich ones.
Prof Ezzati said that poorer people were dying from preventable diseases, which could be rectified with more investment in health and social care in disadvantaged areas.
"We also need government and industry action to eradicate food insecurity and make healthy food choices more affordable, so that the quality of a family's diet isn't dictated by their income."
But it's not just older people affected by the wealth gap.
MORE ON HEALTH
Kids under five from the poorer sectors of society were two-and-a-half times more likely to die as children from affluent families.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: "Our Secretary of State's recent prevention vision clearly sets out this Government's ambition to help everyone lead a longer, healthier life as part of our long-term plan for the NHS.
"We're taking action by addressing the root causes of poor health, promoting healthier lifestyles and tackling inequalities in health access and outcomes. Since 2010, one million people have been lifted out of absolute poverty, including 300,000 children."
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