The Geography of a rapid rise in elderly mortality in England and Wales, 2014-15

Mark Green; Danny Dorling; Jon Minton

doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2017.02.002

The Geography of a rapid rise in elderly mortality in England and Wales, 2014-15

Health Place. 2017 Mar:44:77-85. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2017.02.002. Epub 2017 Feb 12.

Authors

Mark Green¹, Danny Dorling², Jon Minton³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Geography & Planning, University of Liverpool, Roxby Building, Liverpool L69 7ZT, UK. Electronic address: mark.green@liverpool.ac.uk.
² School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, St. Peter's College, New Inn Hall Street, Oxford OX1 2DL, UK. Electronic address: danny.dorling@ouce.ox.ac.uk.
³ School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow, 25 Bute Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RS, UK. Electronic address: Jonathan.Minton@glasgow.ac.uk.

PMID: 28199896
DOI: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2017.02.002

Abstract

Since at least the early 1900s almost all affluent nations in the world have continually experienced improvements in human longevity. Using ONS mid-year population and deaths estimates for Local Authorities for England and Wales, we show that these improvements have recently reversed. We estimate that in England and Wales there were 39,074 more deaths in the year to July 2015 as compared to the year to July 2014 (32,208 of these were of individuals aged 80+). We demonstrate that these increases occurred almost everywhere geographically; in poor and affluent areas, in rural and urban areas. The implications of our findings are profound given what has come before them, combined with the current political climate of austerity.

Keywords: Elderly; England and Wales; Epidemiology; Health geography; Mortality.

MeSH terms

Age Distribution*
Aged, 80 and over
England / epidemiology
Female
Geography, Medical*
Humans
Male
Mortality / trends*
Residence Characteristics / statistics & numerical data
Rural Population
Socioeconomic Factors
Wales / epidemiology