Life expectancy

Please note that this web page is no longer being updated. Please see the Life Expectancy web page on Lancashire Insight

Life expectancy at birth

Life expectancy at birth has been used as a measure of the health status of the population in England and Wales since the 1840s. It was employed in some of the earliest reports of the Registrar General to illustrate the differences in mortality experienced by populations in different parts of the country. The tradition of using life expectancy as an indicator of geographic inequalities in health has been continued by the office for national statistics (ONS) since 2001, with the publication of sub-national life expectancy statistics. Period life expectancy at a given age for an area is the average number of years a person would live, if he or she experienced the particular area's age-specific mortality rates for that time period throughout his or her life.  Meaning there is no guarantee that if the area you live in, has a life expectancy of 80, that you will live for 80 years.

District life expectancy at birth - key findings

Based on estimates calculated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), for the period 2012-2014

Males

• For the period 2012-14 England is estimated to have a male life expectancy (LE) at birth of 79.5
• For this same period the Lancashire county is estimated to have male LE of 78.5 as it continues to increase each year, having been estimated to be 75.2 in 2000-2002. Despite this positive news the male LE estimate for Lancashire remains significantly below the national estimate.
• At a district level Burnley, Hyndburn, Lancashire, Pendle, Preston, Ribble Valley, Rossendale, South Ribble, West Lancashire and Wyre all have estimated male LE (2012-14) significantly below the national average.
• Ranking the local authorities reveals that Burnley, Hyndburn, Preston, Rossendale and Pendle all fall within the bottom 10%, with Burnley reporting the third lowest male life expectancy out all local and unitary authorities in England
• Male life expectancy across the county ranges from 81.2 in the Ribble Valley to 76.1 in Burnley, a difference of 5.1 years. With males living Ribble Valley having a significantly higher life expectancy at birth, than those living every other district, except South Ribble.

Females

• For the period 2012-14 England is estimated to have a male life expectancy (LE) at birth of 83.2
• For this same period the Lancashire county is estimated to have male LE of 82.1 as it continues to increase each year, having been estimated to be 79.8 in 2000-2002. Despite this positive news the female LE estimate for Lancashire remains significantly below the national estimate.
• At a district level Burnley, Chorley, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Rossendale and Wyre all have estimated male LE (2012-14) significantly below the national average.
• Ranking female life expectancy across all local and unitary authorities in England reveals that the Burnley, Hyndburn and Preston districts all fall within the bottom 10% out of all local and unitary authorities in England.
• Female life expectancy across the district ranges from 83.3 in South Ribble to 80.1 in Burnley, a difference of 3.2 years. With females living in South Ribble, having significantly higher life expectancy at birth, than those living in Burnley, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle and Preston.

Males Vs Females

• The difference between the male and female life expectancy at birth, in the county, is 3.6 years – Females 82.1 | Males 78.5. Nationally the difference is 3.7 years, whilst within the county the biggest difference was found in Rossendale (4.7 years) and the smallest was in the Ribble Valley (2 years).
   

District life expectancy at age 65 - key findings

• In 2012-14 life expectancy (Lancashire-12 area) at age 65 was 18.2 years for males, an increase of 0.1 compared to the 2011-13 figures, and 20.4 years for females, representing no change from the 2011-13 figures.
• Benchmarking these figures against the national and regional figures, it was found that the male life expectancy at 65 was significantly below the England figure (18.7) and in line with the North West region (18.0). Life expectancy at 65 for females in the Lancashire county is significantly below England (21.1) and in line with the North West figure (20.3)
• Since 2000-02 life expectancy at 65, for males in Lancashire has increased by 2.5 years (Up from 15.7) compared to a rise nationally of 2.6 years. For females it has risen by 1.7 years (Up from 18.7) over the same period compared to 2 years nationally.
• The difference between the male and female life expectancy at 65, in the county, is 2.2 years – Females 20.4 | Males 18.2. Nationally the difference is 2.4 years, whilst within the county the biggest difference was found in Wyre (2.6) and the smallest was in South Ribble Valley (1.8).
• At a district level, eight of the Lancashire-12 area districts have a 2012-14 male life expectancy at 65, below the England national level: Burnley (17.0), Chorley (18.3), Hyndburn (17.2), Lancaster (18.1), Pendle (18.2), Preston (17.4), Rossendale (17.6) and West Lancashire (18.4)
• The district of South Ribble has a male life expectancy at 65 of 19.5, significantly above the England national level (18.7). While the Fylde (18.7), Ribble Valley (19.2) and Wyre (18.4) districts all have figures in line with the national picture.
• Male life expectancy at 65 ranges across the county from 19.5 in South Ribble to 170 in Burnley, a difference of 2.5 years. Additionally, males living in South Ribble have a significantly higher life expectancy at 65, than those in Burnley, Chorley, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Rossendale and West Lancashire. 
• Ranking all local and unitary authorities across England reveals that the Burnley, Hyndburn, Preston and Rossendale districts all fall within the bottom 10% for male life expectancy at 65, with the Burnley district having the seventh lowest level in the country
• At a district level, eight of the Lancashire-12 area districts have a 2012-14 female life expectancy at 65 that is significantly below the England national level these being; Burnley (19.0), Chorley (20.4), Fylde (20.7), Hyndburn (19.7), Lancaster (20.2), Pendle (20.5), Preston (19.9), Rossendale (20.0) and West Lancashire (20.7)
• The districts of Ribble Valley (21.7), South Ribble (21.3) and Wyre (21.0) all have female life expectancy at 65 figures in line with the national picture (21.1)
• Female life expectancy at 65, across the district ranges from 21.7 in the Ribble Valley to 19 .0in Burnley, a difference of 2.7 years.  Females living in the Ribble Valley were found to have a significantly higher life expectancy at 65, than those living in Burnley, Chorley, Fylde, Hyndburn, Lancaster, Pendle, Preston, Rossendale and West Lancashire.
• National rankings show that the Burnley, Hyndburn, Preston and Rossendale districts all fall within the bottom 10% for female life expectancy at 65, with the Burnley district having the fourth lowest

MSOA Life expectancy : key findings

Based on estimates calculated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), for the period 2009-2013, published November 2015

Key female findings :

• MSOA level estimated female life expectancy in England ranges from 96.3 to 73.8, whilst in Lancashire it ranges from 88.2 to 76.2. A gap of 12 years
• 28 out of 154 (18%) MSOAs from the Lancashire county have significantly higher estimated female life expectancy than the national figure (83.0)
• 64 (42%) MSOAs have an estimated female life expectancy significantly worse than the national figure
• 31 MOSAs in the Lancashire county have an estimated female life expectancy in the bottom 10% in England
• None of the MSOAs which fall within the Burnley and Rossendale districts, have a female life expectancy estimate significantly above the national figure, whilst Ribble Valley has no MSOAs estimated to be significantly worse than the national estimate
• Burnley has the highest proportion of MOSAs within its district boundary, estimated to have female life expectancy levels that are significantly worse than the national figure (67%), followed by Preston (65%) 
• South Ribble has the highest proportion of MOAs within its district boundary, estimated to have female life expectancy levels that are significantly better than the national figure (41%)
• Ribble Valley has the highest proportion of MOAs within its district boundary, estimated to have female life expectancy levels that are in line with the national figure (88%)
• 17% of all MOSAs with a significantly worse estimated female life expectancy than the national average come from the Preston district
• Looking at the link between deprivation and life expectancy 50% of Lancashire county MSOAs, with a significantly worse estimated female life expectancy than the national figure, were found to fall within deprivation quintile 1. A further 27% came from quintile 2, 11% quintile 3, 9% quintile 2 and 3% from quintile 5 (IMD Quintile|2015 (1 = most deprived, 5 = least))

Key male findings :

• MSOA level estimated female life expectancy in England ranges from 92.9 to 67.5, whilst in Lancashire it ranges from 84.3 to 70.5. A gap of 13.8 years
• 28 out of 154 (18%) MSOAs from the Lancashire county have significantly higher estimated male life expectancy than the national figure (79.1)
• 63 (41%) MSOAs have an estimated male life expectancy significantly worse than the national figure
• 28 MOSAs in the Lancashire county have an estimated male life expectancy in the bottom 10% in England
• None of the MSOAs which fall within the Hyndburn and Rossendale districts, have a male life expectancy estimate significantly above the national figure, whilst Ribble Valley has no MSOAs estimated to be significantly worse than the national estimate
• Hyndburn has the highest proportion of MOSAs within its district boundary, estimated to have male life expectancy levels that are significantly worse than the national figure (78%), followed by Rossendale (75%)
• Ribble Valley has the highest proportion of MOAs within its district boundary, estimated to have male life expectancy levels that are significantly better than the national figure (50%)
• Fylde has the highest proportion of MOAs within its district boundary, estimated to have male life expectancy levels that are in line with the national figure (78%)
• 17% of all MOSAs with a significantly worse estimated male life expectancy than the national average come from the Preston district
• 51% of Lancashire county MSOAs, with a significantly worse estimated male life expectancy than the national figure, fell within deprivation quintile 1,  37% quintile 2, 6% quintile 3, 5% quintile 4 and 2% quintile 5.

Health expectancies

The ONS publishes two types of health expectancies the first is healthy life expectancy (HLE), which estimates lifetime spent in 'very good' or 'good' health based on how individuals perceive their general health, taking account of the quality as well as the length of life. The second is disability-free life expectancy (DFLE), which estimates lifetime free from a limiting persistent illness or disability.  At the time of publication the latest figures available were 2012-14 upper tier authority level estimated healthy life expectancy at birth and 2010-12 clinical commissioning group (CCG) level healthy life expectancy (HLE) and disability-free life (DFLE) estimates at both birth and at age 65.

Healthy life expectancy - key findings

Upper tier local authority healthy life expectancy (HLE) at birth 2012-14

Males

• In 2012 to 2014, males at birth in England could expect to spend 80% of their life in "Good" health.  Giving the country a male HLE at birth of 63.4
• For this same period males in Lancashire could be expected to spend 78% of their life in "Good" health, giving the county a male HLE at birth of 61.1.  Significantly below national figure, ranking the county 98th out of 150 upper tier local authorities, placing the county within the bottom 35%.
• Trend line analysis shows that whilst estimated life expectancy has increased for males, estimated HLE is actually decreasing, having be estimated to be 62.8 in 2009-11.

Females

• In 2012 to 2014, females at birth in England could expect to spend  77% of their life in "Good" health.  Giving the country a female HLE at birth of 64
• For this same period females in Lancashire could be expected to spend 77% of their life in "Good" health, giving the county a female HLE at birth of 63.1.  Ranking the county 76th out of 150 upper tier local authorities.
• Trend line analysis shows that whilst the female estimated healthy life expectancy figure has increased recently, it remains below the 2009-11 figure (63.1) 
   

CCG level HLE at birth 2010-12

• Of the six CCGs that cover Lancashire, four had significantly worse estimated male HLE at birth than the England average (63.3 years). These were NHS East Lancashire (60.4), NHS Fylde & Wyre (63), NHS Greater Preston (62.6) and NHS Lancashire North (62.8).
• NHS West Lancashire has the highest estimated male HLE at birth of 63.6 years, whilst NHS East Lancashire has the lowest with 60.4 years.
• Out of the 211 CCGs in England only NHS West Lancashire ranks within the top 100 (ranking 99). 
• Males from East Lancashire CCG are estimated to spend 21.9% of their life in 'not good' health. The best performing areas were NHS Lancashire North and NHS West Lancashire where males are estimated to spend 19.2% of their life in 'not good' health.

Females

• Four of the six CCGs have significantly worse female HLE at birth than the England average (64.8 years). These were NHS Chorley and South Ribble (64.3), NHS East Lancashire (62.0), NHS Fylde & Wyre (64.4) and NHS Greater Preston (63.8).
• NHS Lancashire North has the highest estimated female HLE at birth of 65 years, while NHS East Lancashire had the lowest. 
• Out of the 211 CCGs in England only NHS Lancashire North ranks within the top 100 (ranking 99).
• Females from NHS East Lancashire are estimated to spend 24% of their life in 'not good' health. The best performing area was NHS Lancashire North where females are estimated to spend 21.1% of their life in 'not good' health.

Disability life expectancy - key findings

CCG level DFLE at birth 2010-12

• All six Lancashire CCGs have significantly worse estimated male DFLE at birth than the England average of 64.1 years.
• NHS Chorley and South Ribble has the highest male DFLE at birth of 63.6 years, whilst NHS East Lancashire has the lowest (60.8 years). 
• None of the Lancashire CCGs are ranked within the top 100 for DFLE. 
• Males from NHS East Lancashire are estimated to spend 21.4% of their life with day-to-day activities limited by disability or health problems. NHS Lancashire North performed best on this measure with males estimated to spend 19.2% of their life with day-to-day activities limited by disability or health problems. 

• All six Lancashire CCGs have significantly worse estimated female DFLE at birth than the England average of 65.0 years.
• NHS Lancashire North has the highest female DFLE at birth of 64.4 years, whilst NHS East Lancashire has the lowest (62.1 years).
• None of the Lancashire CCGs are ranked within the top 100 for DFLE. 
• Females from NHS East Lancashire are estimated to spend 23.8% of their life with day-to-day activities limited by disability or health problems. NHS Chorley and South Ribble performed best on this measure with females estimated to spend 21.6% of their life with day-to-day activities limited by disability or health problems.