Life expectancy in England has fallen to its lowest in a decade a new report by Public Health England (PHE) finds.
The PHE said there has been a drop of 1.3 years for men in England, while women saw their life expectancy fall by 0.9.
A plunge in the expected living age of people living in England means the average male lifespan is 78.7 and for women, 82.7.
This is the lowest the ages have been since 2011. The PHE's Health Profile for England found the difference in life expectancy between those in the most and least deprived areas of the country, is the biggest ever recorded in 20 years.
The report stated: "This demonstrates that the pandemic has exacerbated existing inequalities in life expectancy by deprivation."
Meanwhile, in Spain, Italy and Poland, similar drops were recorded, while France experienced a smaller decrease.
Why has life expectancy fallen?
It won't shock readers to learn that the Covid-19 pandemic has been a leading factor in the new findings.
"Covid-19 was the cause of death that contributed most to the gap in 2020, however, higher mortality from heart disease, lung cancer, and chronic lower respiratory diseases in deprived areas remained important contributors." the report added.
However, it was not all down to the virus and the healthcare disruption it caused.
The report claims dementia and Alzheimer’s disease remain the leading cause of death in England in women and the third largest in men.
According to the PHE, there has been an 'unpresented' rise in alcohol related deaths. A 20% rise when compared with 2019.
This could be a signal that the public, under stress and boredom of successive lockdowns, began drinking more than before.
A contributing factor to the fall in life expectancy, is ill patients being reluctant to visit healthcare providers due to Covid-19. Dying before they can be seen and treated.
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