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Mortality target monitoring (life expectancy and all-age all-cause mortality, overall and inequalities)

in
Publisher: 
Department of Health
Author: 
Department of Health
Date published: 
5 November, 2009
Region: 
United Kingdom

Publication type: 
policy
Publication link: 
Mortality target monitoring (life expectancy and all-age all-cause mortality, overall and inequalities): update to include data for 2008
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The latest annual update on life expectancy data and all age all cause mortality rates, with data updated to 2006-08, which are used to monitor progress against Department of Health targets for overall life expectancy in England, and for the gap in life expectancy between the areas with the worst health and deprivation indicators (the Spearhead group) and the England average, was released on 5th November 2009 according to the arrangements approved by the UK Statistics Authority.

The key points from the latest release are:

  • The overall life expectancy and all age all cause mortality (AAACM) trends for both males and females are broadly on course to deliver the target of 78.6 years for men and 82.5 years for women by 2010 (2009-11).
  • In 2006-08, life expectancy at birth in England continued to increase for both males and females, and reached its highest level on record at 77.7 years for males and 81.9 years for females.
  • Three-year average AAACM rates for England have fallen in each period since 1995-97.
  • In 2006-08, average life expectancy at birth in the Spearhead Group was 75.8 years for males and 80.4 years for females, having increased in each period since 1995-97.
  • However, England average life expectancy at birth has increased more quickly over this period, and, in 2006-08, the relative gap – i.e. percentage difference - in life expectancy at birth between England and the Spearhead Group was wider than at the baseline for the target (1995-97) for both males and females.
  • For males the relative gap was 7% wider than at the baseline (compared with 4% wider in 2005-07), for females 14% wider (compared with 11% wider in 2005-07).  Therefore, the target to narrow the life expectancy gap between the Spearhead Group and the England average, by at least 10% by 2010, remains challenging. 
  • Three-year average AAACM rates for the Spearhead Group have fallen in each period since 1995-97 for both males and females.

 

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