24 October 2008
By Julie Read
Living in an affluent area can increase your life expectancy by 14 years, a study revealed this week.
Researchers from the universities of Sheffield and Bristol analysed almost 15 million deaths between 1981 and 2004 and mapped them according to age, place and cause. They said that poverty and social mobility explained the differences, while highlighting the North-South divide.
The Grim Reaper's road map study found that the average life expectancy in the UK is 74.4 years. In the most affluent areas, such as west Eastbourne, this rose to 80.6 years, but in more deprived areas, such as Easterhouse, Glasgow, it plummeted to 66.4.
Danny Dorling, professor of geography at Sheffield University and one of the report's authors, said key factors in the regional variations were levels of wealth and people's mobility. 'This is not just about poverty. Poverty is part of it, but it's also about people moving around the country to improve their health and wealth,' he said.
'Part of the reason east Glasgow has such poor health is that it has one of the highest rates of out-migration. People who are able to do so move to more affluent areas.'
But the report also suggested that the divide in life expectancy between richer and poorer areas is getting worse. The mortality rate for those in the most deprived areas in 1981 was 20% higher than the national average, but this rose to 50% by 2004.
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