The coronavirus pandemic has pushed Liverpool's life expectancy back to a level not seen since 2009, preliminary figures indicate.
Data up until the end of September, published in a Liverpool Council report, indicates that life expectancy in the city has declined by almost two years from last year, dropping from 79.1 to 77.2 years of age.
While incomplete, the figures show the stark impact of Covid so far, particularly given the fact that much of the second wave is not accounted for in the data.
Nine areas of the city have seen life expectancy decline by more than three years compared to 2019. In one ward, Central, the drop is half a decade.
Public health officials, writing in a report to the council's health and wellbeing board, said the drop in life expectancy is being felt unevenly, with the city's poorest areas bearing the brunt.
The report said: "The impact on annual life expectancy has been startling with Liverpool’s rate falling from 79.1 years in 2019 to 77.2 years in the first 9 months of 2020. This is a reduction of 1.9 life years, and life expectancy is currently back to the level reported in 2009.
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"Although having a negative impact on life expectancy across 26 of our 30 electoral wards, the impact of COVID has been greater in certain parts of the city, with 9 wards seeing a reduction in life expectancy in excess of 3 years.
"The life expectancy gap between the wards with the highest and lowest life expectancy was 11 years in 2019; so far this year the gap has risen to 13 years."
The ten areas where life expectancy dropped the most are:
- Central
- Anfield
- Princes Park
- Wavertree
- Fazakerley
- Kirkdale
- Knotty Ash
- Belle Vale
- Norris Green
- Childwall
Four areas saw slight rises in life expectancy up to the end of September. They were Woolton, Everton, Church and Greenbank.
There were 782 excess deaths in the city over the first half of the year, a rise of 18%.
The report covers other aspects of the effect of the pandemic and is one of the items that will be discussed at next week's health and wellbeing board meeting.
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