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News
06 July 2010
Significant difference in life expectancy revealed across the South West
Although people living in the South West are among the healthiest nationally, Health Profiles published by the South West Public Health Observatory today show that there are still notable inequalities in areas such as life expectancy and skin cancer rates within the region.
Life expectancy at birth continues to improve across the South West for both men and women, but men in the Local Authority area with the longest life expectancy, East Dorset (average 81.2 years), can still expect to live 4.3 years longer than those in the Local Authority with the lowest life expectancy, Bristol (average 76.9 years). For women the difference is 3.6 years between East Dorset (average 85.1 years) and Forest of Dean (average 81.5 years). The average for England is 77.9 years for men and 82 years for women.
There is an even wider variation in life expectancy within Local Authority areas, varying with levels of affluence. For example, the gap in life expectancy in men living in the most affluent parts of North Somerset (average 82.8 years) and those living in the most deprived parts (average 73.2 years) is 9.6 years. The largest gap for women is in Gloucester at 7.6 years (ranging from 86.2 years to 78.6 years).
There are also big variations between Local Authority areas on other key health indicators, including:
• New cases of malignant melanoma skin cancer are high in the South West (17.7 new cases per 100,000 population on average) compared to the England average (12.6 per 100,000 population). Rates are highest in Plymouth at 26.3 per 100,000 at 64 new cases per year (the second highest incident rate in England) and lowest in Tewkesbury at 11.6 per 100,000.
• There is a wide variation in excess winter deaths across the region (the percentage increase in the number of deaths from December to March compared with to the rest of the year). Excess deaths range from 2.3% in Torridge (six extra deaths in winter months per year), to over 26.3% in Bath and North East Somerset, (130 extra deaths in winter months per year) the highest rate of excess winter deaths within England. This compares to the England average of 15.6% excess winter deaths.
• Rates of smoking during pregnancy in the South West (14.8%) are similar to the England average (14.6%). However within the region the highest rate is Torbay at 22.3%, which is more than double the rate in South Gloucestershire (8.9%), which is the lowest in the South West.
• Deaths from smoking in people over 35 are highest in Bristol at 229.2 per 100,000 population. This is significantly higher than both the England average and the lowest rate both regionally and nationally of 118.7 per 100,000 in East Dorset.
• Exeter has the highest obesity rates among reception year children in the South West, at just over 14.2%; this is nearly three times the rate of the Cotswold Local Authority, which has the lowest rates in the South West at 5.4%
• East Dorset remains one of the healthiest places to live, with the lowest rates of deaths from heart disease and stroke, and cancer in the region. However, rates of road injuries and deaths are significantly higher than the England average at 74.6 per 100,000 population (64 deaths on average per year between 2006 and 2008).
• In contrast, urban Bristol, with relatively high rates of deprivation, has the highest rate of deaths from heart disease and stroke (85.3 per 100,000 aged under 75) and cancer (124.8 per 100,000) in the region. It also has the highest rate in the region of hospital admissions for alcohol related harm, at 2,266 per 100,000. This ranks 17th highest out of 324 Local Authority areas within England, compared with 978 per 100,000 in East Dorset, which has the lowest rates in the South West.
South West Regional Director of Public Health Dr Gabriel Scally said: "There are a lot of encouraging signs that people's health is improving across the South West. However, there is still a lot of work to be done to address the variations which remain across the region.
"We need to work hard to get more people eating healthily, exercising regularly and taking care of themselves by not smoking, drinking less alcohol and generally looking after themselves, so that everyone can expect good levels of health no matter where they live."
Public Health Minister Anne Milton said: "These figures are an excellent way for people to find out more about the health of their local population. It is great to see that we are living longer and that early deaths from heart disease, strokes and cancer are decreasing.
"But the differences in health from area to area are still too varied. Everyone should have the same chance to have a healthy life no matter where they live. I hope that this information will help clinicians, local authorities and community groups to think about what needs to be done to help make that change happen." Health Profiles provide a snapshot of health for each council area in England. They are designed to help local councils and the NHS decide where to target resources in their area. They are available from www.healthprofiles.info
