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Publication - Statistics

Long-term monitoring of health inequalities: March 2022 report

Published
1 March 2022
From
Cabinet Secretary for NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care
Directorate
Population Health Directorate
Part of
Health and social care
ISBN
9781804351277

Annual update of the long-term monitoring of health inequalities headline indicators.

This document is part of a collection

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All-cause mortality aged 15-44 years

Trends in all-cause mortality aged 15-44

There were over 2,300 deaths of people aged 15-44 in Scotland in 2020.

There was an overall decrease in the mortality rate from the start of the time series in 1997 to 2014, when rates reached a low of 96.8 per 100,000. Since then, the mortality rate of those aged 15-44 has increased and in 2020 it was similar to the start of the time series (119.0 per 100,000 and 116.3 per 100,000 respectively).

Table 10.1: Trends in all-cause mortality (aged 15-44), 1997-2020
Year Number of all-causes deaths Target population size Rate per 100,000 (EASR)
1997 2,440 2,158,030 116.3
1998 2,507 2,142,787 119.4
1999 2,507 2,129,794 119.0
2000 2,501 2,118,568 118.7
2001 2,509 2,111,242 119.0
2002 2,566 2,102,670 122.0
2003 2,461 2,094,408 116.9
2004 2,409 2,088,563 114.7
2005 2,305 2,091,415 109.3
2006 2,482 2,091,581 118.3
2007 2,461 2,097,902 117.5
2008 2,443 2,096,495 117.5
2009 2,389 2,092,065 115.1
2010 2,229 2,087,635 108.6
2011 2,262 2,092,311 110.8
2012 2,071 2,077,902 102.8
2013 1,990 2,064,867 100.1
2014 1,904 2,053,897 96.8
2015 1,976 2,053,401 101.2
2016 2,194 2,054,055 112.5
2017 2,068 2,048,063 107.1
2018 2,220 2,044,305 114.5
2019 2,331 2,053,086 119.8
2020 2,349 2,055,180 119.0

The deaths of those aged 15-44 in 2020 included: 404 probable suicides, 30 deaths from assault and 756 drug-related deaths. While the rates of probable suicide in this age group had generally been declining in recent years there was a gradual increase in 2018, 2019 and 2020, to 19.8 per 100,00 in 2020, the highest figure since 2011 (20.5 per 100,000). Rates of death from assault have increased slightly to 1.4 per 100,000 in 2020 from a low of 1.0 per 100,000 in 2014, but have generally been lower in the last decade that at the start of the series. Drug-related deaths have shown large increases since the beginning of the time series in 1997. In 2020, the drug-related death rate was 38.0 per 100,000, this compares with 8.9 per 100,000 in 1997.

Table 10.2: Trends in deaths from assault, drugs and suicide (aged 15-44), 1997-2020
Deaths from assault Drug related deaths Suicides
Year Number EASR per 100,000 Number EASR per 100,000 Number EASR per 100,000
1997 56 2.6 196 8.9 518 23.9
1998 65 3.0 227 10.6 526 24.4
1999 86 4.0 274 12.9 529 24.7
2000 60 2.9 268 12.7 541 25.6
2001 63 3.0 289 13.8 531 25.3
2002 76 3.6 345 16.7 539 25.7
2003 71 3.4 282 13.6 456 21.8
2004 78 3.8 311 15.2 475 22.7
2005 50 2.3 277 13.4 436 21.0
2006 83 4.0 350 17.1 435 20.9
2007 54 2.6 392 19.1 453 21.8
2008 53 2.5 477 23.3 480 23.4
2009 47 2.3 436 21.3 432 20.8
2010 54 2.6 384 18.9 423 20.5
2011 53 2.6 454 22.5 420 20.5
2012 37 1.9 416 20.8 375 18.3
2013 35 1.7 354 17.9 356 17.7
2014 22 1.0 416 21.1 309 15.4
2015 28 1.4 442 22.8 306 15.3
2016 34 1.7 568 29.2 329 16.2
2017 40 2.0 581 30.1 305 15.1
2018 28 1.4 723 37.3 370 18.3
2019 29 1.4 753 38.4 404 19.7
2020 30 1.4 756 38.0 404 19.8

Inequalities in all-cause mortality aged 15-44, 2020

The mortality rate amongst people aged 15-44 years was nearly 9 times higher in the most deprived areas (272.8 per 100,000) compared to the least deprived (31.7 per 100,000) in 2020.

Figure 10.1 All-cause mortality amongst those aged 15-44y years by Income-Employment Index, Scotland 2020 (European Age-Standardised Rates per 100,000)

Trends in relative inequalities

There has been an overall increase in relative inequalities over time and they are currently at the second highest point in the time series (2.0).

Figure 10.2 Relative index of inequality (RII): all- cause mortality aged 15-44y Scotland 1997-2020

Between 1997 and 2017, death rates ranged from 4-7 times higher in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived. Between 2018-2020 the death rates were 8-9 times higher in the most deprived areas compared to the least deprived areas.

Trends in absolute inequalities

The absolute gap in all-cause mortality between those living in the most and least deprived areas has fluctuated over the time series, reaching its lowest level in 2013 (a gap of 159.6 per 100,000). The gap has shown an overall increase since then and was 241.1 per 100,000 in 2020. This increase has been driven by an increase in mortality for those living in the most deprived areas.

Figure 10.3 Absolute-Gap: All cause mortality 15-44y, Scotland 1997-2020 (European Age-Standardised Rates per 100,000)

Contact

Email: morag.shepherd@gov.scot

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