Life span between Britain's rich and poor widens: figures

Experts at Britain's official statistics agency said Wednesday they are going to analyze a widening gap in life expectancy between the country's most deprived and better-off areas.

Latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that in England, the gap in life expectancy at birth between those born in the most and least deprived areas was 9.4 years for men and 7.4 years for women in the years between 2015 and 2017.

ONS says it wants to know whether a widening gap in life expectancy is linked to deprivation.

ONS said there have been statistically significant increases in the gap for both genders since research was carried out for the years between 2012 and 2014, with the gap for women increasing by half a year.

Between 2012 to 2014 and 2015 to 2017, life expectancy at birth of women living in the most deprived areas in England fell by almost 100 days. In comparison, the life expectancy of women living in the least deprived areas increased by 84 days.

The figures mean that for both genders, those living in the least deprived areas of England and Wales were expected to live for nearly 20 years longer in good health than those living in the most deprived areas.

In Wales, the gap in life expectancy at birth between those in the most and least deprived areas of the country was 9 years for men and 7.5 years for women in 2015 to 2017.

Ben Humberstone, ONS Deputy Director for Health Analysis and Life Events, said: "We've found a large fall in life expectancy at birth among women living in the most deprived areas in England when comparing the periods 2012 to 2014 and 2015 to 2017.

"This is in contrast to the continued increases in life expectancy for women living in the least deprived areas. This has led to a significant widening in the inequality in life expectancy at birth in England. Wales mirrored this pattern, although significant changes were not detected.

"Our wider analysis of mortality shows that life expectancy in the UK has stopped improving at the rate that was expected before 2011. We will be carrying out further work to analyze the factors contributing to this trend, including the impact of deprivation."