Gap in life expectancy between rich and poor shrinks, new report finds

Gap in life expectancy between rich and poor shrinks, new report finds The gap in life expectancy between the richest 10 per cent and the poorest 10 per cent shrank by 2.5 years between 1999 and 2010, finds a new report by The King’s Fund published today. The report, which builds on Professor Sir Michael Marmot’s ground-breaking research into health inequalities, is the first time that the relationship between life expectancy and income has been analysed over time at this level of detail.

Populations in poorer areas tend to have worse health than populations in richer ones, but our research suggests that the gap in life expectancy narrowed from 6.9 years in 1999–2003 to 4.4 years in 2006–10. Average life expectancy across the whole of England increased during this period, but the fastest improvement was in areas with the highest levels of income deprivation. The King's Fund