Lifespan gap ‘widening between rich and poor’
Fascinating article and don’t just assume because of affluent groups seeming to predominate in rural England there aren’t some people caught at the wrong end of this widening divide in rural communities. It tells us:
The gap between the lifespans of rich and poor people in England and Wales is rising for the first time since the 1870s, researchers have suggested.
Everyone is living longer but rich people’s lives are extending faster, the City University London study says.
Better life expectancy narrowed the gap in the early 20th Century but this trend reversed for men in the 1990s.
Author Prof Les Mayhew from Cass Business School said the difference was mainly due to “lifestyle choices”.
Based on figures from the Human Mortality Database, researchers measured the differences in age between the youngest 10% of adult deaths and the oldest 5%.
From 1870 to 1939 the gap steadily closed, the report said.
“Everyone benefited from improvements in clean drinking water, better housing, higher incomes and better health,” said Prof Mayhew.
After 1950 there were further rises in life expectancy – though inequalities in lifespan persisted rather than narrowing further.
But in the 1990s lifespan inequalities actually worsened, particularly for men, for the first time since the late 1870s, say the researchers.
For me who died in 2010 aged over 30 years, the data reveals that while the oldest 5% reached an average age of almost 96, the youngest 10% died at an average age of just over 62 years (more than 33 years younger). By 2009 this longevity gap was 1.7 years greater than it has been at its narrowest in 1993. For women who died aged over 30 years in 2010, the longevity gap between the oldest and youngest cohorts was 31 years.
The authors suggest lack of wealth is not directly responsible for the difference, but the poorest groups are more likely to suffer the cumulative effects of decades of poor lifestyle choices and income inequality – while wealthier, more educated people may find it easier to adopt healthier habits.
The authors say the negative health outcomes of smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, poor diet and lack of exercise “are disproportionately associated with the poorest in society”.
They say it is vital to encourage healthier lifestyles and to counter pressure on individuals from “exposure to advertising, their communities and peer groups”.