can be Health and life expectancy: deprivation

Life expectancy (LE) and healthy life expectancy (HLE) vary according to levels of socio-economic deprivation.  For both males and females, LE and HLE are shorter for those living in more deprived areas compared to those living in less deprived areas.  There are also differences in the recent trends in LE and HLE according to the level of deprivation. 

LE and HLE by deprivation decile and quintile are published annually by NRS. Reports and infographics produced by NRS explore of the annual patterns seen in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy by council area.

The degree of socio-economic deprivation is often assessed using the Scottish Government's Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). Small geographical areas (known as datazones) are ranked according to their SIMD scores and these are then grouped into either deciles (each containing 10% of the datazones) or quintiles (each containing 20% of the datazones).

Chart 1 uses NRS data to show trends in Scottish LE and HLE by deprivation quintile for males and females. Note release of NRS 2020-2022 LE and HLE estimates has been delayed until after the publication of 2022 Census based population estimates. 

Presenting LE and HLE estimates according to SIMD quintiles or deciles is one way of evaluating the impact of deprivation on these measures.  The ScotPHO online profiles tool provides some additional metrics that can be used to interpret trends in the patterns of inequality in life expectancy within Scotland, NHS boards and council areas (see ‘Inequalities’ tab).  These additional metrics include summary measure such as the slope index of inequality (SII), relative index of inequality (RII) and population attributable fraction (PAF).

The Scottish government ‘Long-term monitoring of health inequalities report’ and National Care Service: health and demographic profile also include descriptions of recent trends in both LE and HLE