Health inequality gap continues to widen

Scotland’s Chief Statistician today announced the publication of the latest Long-term Monitoring of Health Inequalities: Headline Indicators report, the sixth annual publication on headline indicators following the Equally Well (2008) report of the Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities.

The main findings are:

• The highest level of relative inequality continues to be seen in alcohol-related deaths among those aged 45 to 74 years. However, this rate has fallen to its lowest level in the reporting period (1998 to 2011).  Relative inequality levels for first alcohol-related hospital admissions have remained stable since 1997.
• Despite stabilising in recent years, the level of relative inequality for deaths among those aged 15 to 44 years has increased since 1997.  A similar pattern can also be seen in deaths among those aged under 75 years.
• Between 1997 and 2011, the death rate for coronary heart disease (CHD) among those aged 45 to 74 years fell by 61%. The reduction was slower in the most deprived areas of Scotland than elsewhere, meaning that relative inequality has increased slightly over the long-term while the absolute inequality gap has narrowed. However, there are signs that relative inequality has stabilised in recent years.
• Despite no clear long term trend, in recent years heart attack hospital admission rates have increased and inequalities widened.
• Over the longer term, most indicators have shown signs of stability in one or both measures.  Inequalities in low birthweight are now stabilising having decreased between 2006 and 2008, while other indicators, such as CHD deaths, have stabilised following increases in inequality.
• Additional inequalities information, regarding healthy birthweight babies (babies with an appropriate weight for gestational age) as well as incidence and mortality rates by cancer type, is included in this report for the first time in 2013.
• Full results for all indicators are available in the publication.

The gap in health outcomes between the most deprived and least deprived areas of Scotland is reported for a variety of indicators in both absolute and relative terms. The latest figures include data up to 2011 for most indicators.

Commenting on the latest statistics, Minister for Public Health Michael Matheson said that tackling income inequality is the root of the challenge. He said:

“Overall, health in Scotland is improving, and people are living longer, healthier lives. Reducing the health gap between people in Scotland’s most deprived and affluent communities is one of our greatest challenges.

“At the root is the issue of income inequality – we need a shift in emphasis from dealing with the consequences to tackling the underlying causes, such as ending poverty, fair wages, supporting families and improving our physical and social environments.

“In the face of the UK Government’s welfare cuts, we are working with all of our partners to tackle poverty and inequality and help those who want to work to get into work.

“Many people in Scotland are concerned about the welfare policies of the UK government and the implications they could have on them and their families. And that is why we want to develop a Scottish system which provide support for those who need it.

“This illustrates the fact that the full powers of independence would provide the opportunity to make substantial progress on tackling health inequalities.

“We are continuing to take decisive action in areas we have control, for example to address alcohol consumption, reduce smoking rates, encourage active living, healthy eating, and promote positive mental health. But without full control over areas like welfare, we are left having to deal with UK Government welfare policies that only threaten to make things worse.”