Inequalities
Segmenting life expectancy by cause of death
Public Health England has developed a resource which provides information on the causes of death that are driving inequalities in life expectancy at local area level. Targeting the causes of death which contribute most to the life expectancy gap should have the biggest impact on reducing inequalities.
For males and females, the tool provides data tables and charts showing the breakdown of the life expectancy gap in 2012-14 for two comparisons:
- The gap between the Local Authority as a whole and England as a whole.
- The gap between the most deprived quintile and the least deprived quintile within the Local Authority.
The gap between Stockton and England
For men, over one-third of the gap between Stockton and England is caused by higher rates of cancer mortality. For women, cancer and respiratory diseases contribute similar proportions to the gap. Within the cancer category, lung cancer deaths are responsible for a higher proportion of the gap in women compared with men. External causes of death (such as accidents and suicide) have a greater contribution to the gap for men compared with women.
The gap within Stockton
Cancer is the biggest contributor to the gap between the most and least deprived communities in Stockton for both men and women. About 40% of the excess cancer mortality is due to lung cancer. For males, external causes of death have a greater contribution to the gap between deprived and affluent communities in Stockton compared with females.
Full details, including number of deaths and numbers of excess deaths can be found in The Segment Tool: Key results for Stockton-on-Tees.
Premature mortality
Premature mortality, that is to say deaths before age 75 years, is a symptom of high disease burden as well as underlying health inequalities. Know your numbers: premature mortality provides an analysis of the main causes of premature mortality in Tees Valley, and estimates how many premature deaths would need to be prevented to achieve rates similar to the North East and England. In Stockton-on-Tees the greatest burden of premature mortality is due to cancer, followed by circulatory disease.
