Your Postcode Is Ageing You: New Report Exposes North-South Longevity Gap

New research has detailed “alarming” disparities among older people in the North and South of England across multiple factors, including life expectancy, poverty, nutrition, social inclusion, and employment. 

Anna Dixon, MP for Shipley, is set to launch the Northern Health Science Alliance’s new report in Westminster today. She said: “Where you live shouldn’t affect your experience of ageing. This report brings into sharp focus the reality of how unequal ageing is across England.” 

Speaking to HuffPost UK, Emeritus Professor Alan Walker, from the University of Sheffield’s Healthy Lifespan Institute, said: “In almost every aspect of ageing we
examined, there are clear inequities between the North and South.” 

Which differences did they find?

The report found that older people living in the North East and North West of England are 1.61 and 1.33 times, respectively, more likely to be frail than their peers in the South East.

Frailty has been linked to higher instances of dementia in previous studies. The new report found 11.8% of older people in the North live with “cognitive frailty” (cognitive impairment plus physical frailty) compared to 7% in the South East.

Older people from the North of England are also 1.16 and 1.06 times more likely to have a fall that requires hospital treatment, and 1.14 and 1.12 times more likely to have a hip fracture compared to older people living in the South East. 

Those aged over 65 are 5% more likely to be deprived in the North than in the South; they are more likely to leave the workplace due to sickness and less likely to retire, the report added.

Arthritis, isolation, inadequate housing, and food insecurity are also more common. Older people in the North can expect to live two years less, on average, than anywhere in the rest of England. 

Those are only some of the many “alarming” disparities this research found.

The gap is growing 

Speaking to HuffPost UK, Prof Walker said: “People across England are ageing
unequally. A combination of economic and social factors is driving this inequality gap between the North and the South of England, and it is growing.” 

Not only can people in the North expect shorter lives, he added, but they are less likely to enjoy a long healthy lifespan.

“There is a staggering gap of more than 15 years in disability-free life expectancy between the most and least disadvantaged areas of England,” he shared.

Yorkshire and the Humber and the North East saw a 10% rise in poverty from 2012 to 2022, the report shared. 

But, the researcher said, these “stark” differences are not inevitable.

“If this were prioritised by government, it would not only benefit the current and future generations of older people, but would also bring economic benefits to the whole country as fewer ageing workers would be compelled to leave the labour force due to ill-health and the costs associated with poor health in old age would be reduced,” Dr Walker stated. 

“We hope that this research acts as a catalyst for policymakers to take
decisive steps to address these issues as a matter of urgency.”