Health
Key points
- There is significant variation in the rates of infant mortality across London's boroughs. The rate in Southwark, Croydon, Haringey and Harrow is twice the rate in Bromley, Kingston and Richmond.
- Poor mental health is much more common in the more deprived parts of London than in the richer areas. In the most deprived fifth of areas, one in five have poor mental wellbeing, compared to one in eight in the least deprived fifth.
- The average 5 year old in London has more missing, filled or decayed teeth (4) than the average child in the rest of England (3.5). Brent has the highest recorded rate in London (5.5).
- The rate of premature death in London is very close to the English average for men and women. In London, the rate of premature death for men is around 215 per 100,000. For women, it is around 125 per 100,000.
- The 6 boroughs with the highest rates of premature death are all in the Inner East & South. The rates in Hackney and Lambeth are twice those in Richmond and Kensington & Chelsea.
Find out more about Health by visiting the indicators in this section, listed on the right.
The relationship between poverty and health
The reason for including health in a site about poverty is the strong and enduring links between the two. Ill health is an additional burden that is more likely to affect those on lower incomes.
The last government commissioned a wide ranging review of health inequalities across the country (Fair Society, Healthy Lives: The Marmot Review) which demonstrated the gaps in life expectancy, disability and poor mental health between the top and bottom of British society. Following on from this report, a London specific version has been commissioned and we draw on some of its findings in this section.
Statistics show that, at the national level, health problems are somewhat more likely to affect those with low incomes (or from manual social classes) than those with average or above-average incomes (or from non-manual social classes). To illustrate this point, across England as a whole:
- Infant deaths (deaths before the age of 12 months) are 50% more common in families from manual social backgrounds as families from non-manual social backgrounds.
- People in the poorest fifth of incomes are far more likely to be at risk of a mental health problem than those in the richest fifth (22% – 7% for men, 24% – 12% for women).
- Two-fifths of adults aged 45 to 64 with below-average incomes have a limiting long-term illness, more than twice the rate for adults of the same age with above-average incomes.
- Death rates for cancer and heart disease, the two biggest causes of death for under 65s, are about twice as high for people from manual rather than non-manual backgrounds.
On average, then, ill health is an additional burden on people already coping with low incomes.
Data used
ONS (2008) Childhood, infant and perinatal mortality statistics, series DH3 No. 29–38
DoH (2004–06) Health Survey for England
ONS (2004–06) General Household Survey
ONS (1997–09) Health Statistics Quarterly
Topic:
Relevant Indicators
Glossary
Inner London:
Camden, Hackney, Hammersmith & Fulham, Haringey, Islington, Kensington & Chelsea, Lambeth, Lewisham, Newham, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Wandsworth, Westminster
Outer London:
Barking & Dagenham, Barnet, Bromley, Bexley, Brent, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield, Greenwich, Harrow, Havering, Hillingdon, Hounslow, Kingston upon Thames, Merton, Redbridge, Richmond upon Thames, Sutton, Waltham Forest
Limiting long-standing or long-term illness:
Illnesses which last longer than a year, are usually degenerative, and cause limitations to physical, mental and/or social well-being
Infant mortality:
Death occurring before twelve months