The life expectancy of the poorest women in England has declined, according to a disturbing new study

An alarming new study found that the life expectancy of the poorest women in England had declined since 2011, while the disparity between life expectancies of the richest and most disadvantaged areas of society was digging. According to researchers at Imperial College London, the life expectancy of women in the poorest communities of England decreased by a quarter of the year between 2011 and 2016, while that women in the richest areas lived nearly eight years longer than those in the most disadvantaged. In addition, many people living in disadvantaged areas have died of preventable or treatable diseases.

The study, published in Lancet Public Health, analyzed 7.65 million deaths in England between 2001 and 2016, using data from the Office for National Statistics. The researchers found that the life expectancy of the poorest 10th-grade women in England had decreased by 0.24 years since 2011. In addition, the tenth of England's poorest women lived on average 78.8 years, while the tenth of the richest lived 86.7 years. The disparity in life expectancy – 7.9 years in 2016 – increased from 6.1 years in 2001.

The gap in life expectancy among men was even greater, although the increase between 2001 and 2016 was much less important. In 2016, the life expectancy of the poorest men was 74 years, compared to 83.8 years for the richest men. This is a difference of 9.8 years, compared to 9 years in 2001.

Professor Majid Ezzati, lead author, said: "The decline in life expectancy in the poorest communities is a deeply worrying indicator of the state of health of our country and shows that we are leaving the more vulnerable out of the collective gain. "

"We are currently facing a series of perfect factors that can impact health and enable the poor to die at a younger age," he added. "Labor income has stagnated and profits have been reduced, forcing many working families to use food banks.The price of healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables has increased relative to unhealthy processed foods, putting them out of business. reach of the poorest. "

The study also examined the different causes of death between the richest and most disadvantaged regions of England. She revealed that even though the poorest people would die more frequently from diseases such as respiratory diseases, heart disease, dementia, lung cancer and digestive system, etc. children's diseases were much more likely to shorten the lives of the poorest. According to the researchers, children under five living in the most deprived areas of England were 2.5 times more likely to die than children in the richest regions.

"Budget cuts in health and cuts in local government services since 2010 have also had a significant impact on the poorest communities, which has led to treatable diseases such as cancer diagnosed too late or to people dying earlier from diseases such as dementia, "said Professor Ezzati. I said.

"Greater investments in health care and social services in the most disadvantaged areas will help reverse the disturbing trends in our work, and we need the government and the sector to take steps to eliminate the risk." food insecurity and make healthy food choices more affordable, so the quality of the family's diet is not dictated by their incomes ". Government representatives have not yet responded to a request for comment.

As the guardian observes that the study follows a report by the UN envoy on poverty, Philip Alston, who condemned the UK's "punitive, petty and often cruel" austerity policies , including the introduction of universal credit. "It is clearly unfair and contrary to British values ​​that so many people live in poverty," said Alston, again condemning budget cuts in local authorities and public services. A government spokesman said at the guardian that they were "in complete disagreement" with the report, saying: "We are absolutely committed to helping people improve their living conditions while providing the support they need to those who need it."

In September 2018, Public Health England found that the life expectancy of British women was below the EU average at 83 versus 83.6 years. The same month, data from the Office of National Statistics revealed that growth in life expectancy in the UK was at a standstill.

In October, researchers at the University of Manchester found an increase in the north-south divide compared to early deaths. Northern England has seen a sharp increase in the number of deaths between ages 25 and 44, resulting from heart disease, alcohol and drug abuse, drug addiction, suicides, accidents, smoking and other factors, which resulted in a significant gap between the north and south of England. "This gap could be due to the exacerbation of social inequalities and health existing for many years," published study published in Lancet Public HealthI said.