Long-Term Monitoring of Health Inequalities: Headline Indicators - October 2012

Premature Mortality - from all causes, aged under 75 years

Summary

• Since 2006, inequalities have been stable in relative terms, and have fallen in absolute terms

Between 1997 and 2010, deaths amongst those aged under 75 years have decreased by 26.4%. Despite these decreases, around 21,000 people aged under 75 still die each year. Deaths in this age group are more common in deprived areas than in areas of low deprivation. In 2010, premature deaths amongst those living in the most deprived decile were 3.4 times more likely than those living in the least deprived decile. Reductions in premature mortality have been observed across the population in most years since 1997. Between 1997 and 2006 these improvements occurred at a slower rate in the most deprived areas than elsewhere in Scotland, which resulted in a widening of inequalities in relative terms. However, in the years since 2006 the level of relative inequalities has stabilised. Over the long-term the level of absolute equality has remained broadly stable, although there have been some reductions in recent years.

Inequalities gradient in the most recent year available

Relative Index of Inequality (RII) over time

Absolute range over time

Scale / context

1. Correction notice. A clerical error was identified in the previous publication of the target population for 2009. This did not reflect an error in the underlying data and no statistical results have been affected.