Northerners 20% more likely to die before they're 75
Mortality gap particularly acute among 25 to 34-year-olds, say scientists
People living in the north of England have a greater chance of dying under the age of 75 than those in the south, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal.
Research from the universities of Manchester and York, based on official death records from 1965-2015, found northerners were 20 per cent more likely to die at a younger age.
"The problem is particularly stark among very young people," The Independent says. "There were 29 per cent more deaths among 25-34 year olds in the north in 2015, and a 35-44 year old is a full 49 per cent more likely to die suddenly if they live in the north rather than the south."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The scientists did not examine the causes of death.
Lead researcher Iain Buchan said: "Five decades of death records tell a tale of two Englands, north and south, divided by resources and life expectancy - a profound inequality resistant to the public health interventions of successive governments".
An accompanying editorial in the British Medical Journal says the north-south health divide is at its widest for 40 years and warns "the north is being decimated at the rate of a major city every decade".
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Today's political cartoons - December 22, 2024
Cartoons Sunday's cartoons - the long and short of it, trigger finger, and more
By The Week US Published
-
5 hilariously spirited cartoons about the spirit of Christmas
Cartoons Artists take on excuses, pardons, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Inside the house of Assad
The Explainer Bashar al-Assad and his father, Hafez, ruled Syria for more than half a century but how did one family achieve and maintain power?
By The Week UK Published
-
Neanderthal gene ‘caused up to a million Covid deaths’
Speed Read Genetic tweak found in one in six Britons means cells in the lungs are slower to launch defences
By The Week Staff Published
-
Legalising assisted dying: a complex, fraught and ‘necessary’ debate
Speed Read The Assisted Dying Bill – which would allow doctors to assist in the deaths of terminally ill patients – has relevance for ‘millions’
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Vaccinating children: it’s decision time for the health secretary as kids return to school
Speed Read Sajid Javid readying NHS England to roll out jab for children over 12, amid fears infections will rocket
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
‘Vaccination blunts, but does not defeat’: exploring Israel’s fourth Covid wave
Speed Read Two months ago, face masks were consigned to bins. Now the country is in a ‘unique moment of epidemiological doubt’
By The Week Staff Published
-
Thousands told to self-isolate in Covid app pinging error, claims Whitehall whistleblower
Speed Read Source says Matt Hancock was privately told of the issue shortly before he resigned as health secretary
By The Week Staff Published
-
Record 5.45m people on NHS England waiting lists
Speed Read Health chief warns that crisis is nearing ‘boiling point’ as backlog grows
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Covid testing: the ‘great new game of holiday roulette’
Speed Read On one day last week, the price of a private PCR test ranged from £23.99 to £575
By The Week Staff Published
-
San Marino is first European country to offer ‘vaccine vacation’
Speed Read Tiny landlocked nation to give Russian Sputnik vaccine to paying tourists
By The Week Staff Last updated