Inequalities in premature mortality in Britain

23 July 2010 - Inequalities in premature mortality in Britain. The level of inequalities in premature mortality between different areas of Britain has surpassed those seen shortly before the economic crash of 1929 and the economic depression of the 1930s, according to academics at the Universities of Sheffield and Bristol. The research, which was published on bmj.com today (23 July 2010), found that inequalities continued to rise steadily during the first decade of the twenty first century and could become worse. Inequalities in mortality in Britain have persisted over many years and recent government efforts to reduce them have not had any great impact as yet. The gap in health inequalities has widened over the past 10 years, reflecting widening inequality in wealth and income. The research team has built on previous research looking at socioeconomic differences in mortality, using updated population estimates and a new more accurate way of measuring poverty. They analysed mortality data for England and Wales, obtained from the Office for National Statistics, and for Scotland, obtained from the General Register Office for Scotland.