| Information component |
Pg 3 Health Inequalities: changes over time – Trend 1 Chart Life Expectancy at birth |
| Subject category / domain(s) |
Health Inequalities: changes over time |
| Indicator name (* Indicator title in health profile) |
Trend in Life Expectancy at Birth |
| PHO with lead responsibility |
LHO |
| Date of PHO dataset creation |
Jan 2006 |
| Indicator definition |
Life expectancy at birth, years, all ages, 1995 – 1997 to 2003-05, males and females |
| Geography |
England, GOR, Local Authority: Counties, County Districts, Metropolitan County Districts, Unitary Authorities, London Boroughs. Boundaries as at April 2006. |
| Timeliness |
ONS produced data are updated annually in the Autumn of the following year |
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Rationale:What this indicator purports to measure
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Life expectancy at birth is a summary measure of the all cause mortality rates in an area in a given period. It is the average number of years a new-born baby would survive, were he or she to experience the particular area’s age-specific mortality rates for that time period throughout his or her life. |
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Rationale:Public Health Importance
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All cause mortality is a fundamental and probably the oldest measure of the health status of a population. It represents the cumulative effect of the prevalence of risk factors, prevalence and severity of disease, and the effectiveness of interventions and treatment. Differences in levels of all-cause mortality reflect health inequalities between different population groups, e.g. between genders, social classes and ethnic groups. Life expectancy at birth is chosen as the preferred summary measure of all cause mortality as it quantifies the differences between areas in units (years of life) that are more readily understood and meaningful to the audience than those of other measures. |
| Rationale: Purpose behind the inclusion of the indicator |
To help reduce premature mortality and facilitate planning of health services at local level To help reduce health inequalities – between males and females, and between geographical areas |
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Rationale:Policy relevance
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There is a national health inequalities target for life expectancy which aims to increase average life expectancy at birth in England to 78.6 years for men and to 82.5 years for women, and to reduce health inequalities by 10% by 2010 as measured by life expectancy at birth (Department of Health PSA priority 1).Also life expectancy is an indicator in the following:Local basket of inequalities indicators – Indicator 13.12.Opportunity for all – Communities – Indicator 39.Quality of life indicators – Health and social well-being – Indicator 33 |
| Interpretation: What a high / low level of indicator value means |
The higher the life expectancy, the longer the estimated life expectancy for males or females living in that area at that time. A downward sloping trend line indicates that life expectancy is worsening.An upward sloping trend line indicates that life expectancy is improving.If the trend line for the local authority is consistently above the trend line for England then life expectancy has been consistently higher than that for England for the stated period.If the trend line for the local authority is consistently below the trend line for England then life expectancy has been consistently lower than that for England for the stated period.If the gap between the local authority trend line and the England trend line is widening then inequality in life expectancy is worsening.If the gap between the local authority trend line and the England trend line is narrowing then inequality in life expectancy is improving. |
| Interpretation: Potential for error due to type of measurement method |
The figures reflect the contemporary mortality among those living in the area in each time period. They are not the number of years a baby born in the area in each time period could actually expect to live, both because the death rates of the area are likely to change in the future and because many of those born in the area will live elsewhere for at least some part of their lives.Life expectancy at birth is also not a guide to the remaining expectancy of life at any other given age. For example, if female life expectancy at birth was 80 years for a particular area, life expectancy of women aged exactly 75 years in that area would exceed 5 years. This reflects the fact that survival from a particular age depends only on the mortality rates beyond that age, whereas survival from birth is based on mortality rates for all ages |
| Interpretation: Potential for error due to bias and confounding |
Older people living in nursing homes tend to be in poorer health than those not living in nursing homes. As these homes are unevenly distributed across the country, a higher death rate – consequently lower life expectancy level – in one area could simply be the result of migration of frail older people moving into nursing homes in that area. |
