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".
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
-
'The United States needs to up its game'Instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
'Accepting defeat is Rishi Sunak's only hope of victory'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Royal family website attacked by Russian hackers
Speed Read Pro-Kremlin group claim responsibility just two weeks after King Charles condemns invasion of Ukraine
-
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
-
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’
-
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
-
‘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’
-
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
-
Record 5.45m people on NHS England waiting lists
Speed Read Health chief warns that crisis is nearing ‘boiling point’ as backlog grows
-
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
-
San Marino is first European country to offer ‘vaccine vacation’
Speed Read Tiny landlocked nation to give Russian Sputnik vaccine to paying tourists
