[UK] Pessimism and poverty reduce life expectancy in Scotland

from The Scotsman

LOUISE GRAY SCOTTISH POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT

THE gap in life expectancy between rich and poor in Scotland is continuing to grow, new figures showed yesterday, with men in deprived areas expected to die almost eight years before their wealthier neighbours.

The latest statistics from the Registrar General showed men in the middle-class suburbs of East Dunbartonshire can expect to live to the age of 77.7, while men living in the housing schemes of Glasgow will be lucky to reach their 70th birthday. Women in more affluent areas are also living longer, with those in Orkney reaching 81.4, compared with women in Glasgow who live to 76.7years.

The gap between local authority areas where men live the longest and those where life expectancy is lowest has grown from seven years in the early 1990s to 7.8 years in 2005, while for women it has increased from 4.3 to 4.7.

Overall, life expectancy in Scotland is up 2.3 years over the past decade to 74.2 for men and up 1.7 years to 79.2 for women.

But mortality rates are improving more slowly than the rest of the UK, and the country still has one of the lowest levels of life expectancy.

Duncan Macniven, the Registrar General for Scotland, said: "While it is encouraging that life expectancy at birth across Scotland is increasing, there are still large differences between areas."

The Scottish Executive said improvements in life expectancy are not happening fast enough.

A spokeswoman said: "The main problem is persistent health inequality across Scotland. Improving everyone's health, while tackling these inequalities, is the main aim of our health-improvement policies."

Dr Carol Craig, chief executive of the Centre for Health and Well-being in Glasgow, said depressive illnesses could be a factor which influences longevity.

She explained

: "It is not just poverty, there is an additional factor as well. We have to ask ourselves if there is something about poor people in Scotland that they feel less hopeful and more negative than elsewhere."