Carlos FresnedaLondon Correspondent

London Correspondent

Updated Monday, January 22, 2024-01:57

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The average life expectancy of Britons has hit rock bottom.

All European countries have suffered in recent years from the impact of the pandemic, but in the United Kingdom the trend was already occurring and worries experts, who have raised the alarm in the face of factors such as the great economic disparity.

The life expectancy of a boy born between 2020 and 2022 in the British Isles is 78.6 years (81.8 in Spain) and that of a girl is 82.6 (87 in our country).

The differences between

London

and the

north of England

are overwhelming, as is the case with

Scotland

, considered

the least long-lived region in Western Europe

, with

Glasgow as a black spot

.

"Most countries have experienced a devastating rise in mortality during

Covid

, but the

UK

had one of the highest levels of excess mortality during the pandemic among developed countries and there has not been the rebound that might have been expected. "warns Veena Raleigh, researcher at The Kings Fund.

"This points to deeper problems in the health of our population and the resilience of our health system," says the epidemiologist.

The majority of Britons recognize that the National Health System (NHS) is their main source of pride, but 80% admit that the lack of resources and staff is causing serious damage.

The problem has deep social roots, according to research published by

The Lancet

in 2021. Average life expectancy was already declining before the pandemic in many areas of northern England affected by years of industrial reconversion and abandonment. economic.

The Lancet

study

revealed a gap of up to 27 years in the life expectancy of a man born in the wealthy neighborhood of Chelsea and another born in Blackpool.

"Longevity has been worsening for years in large parts of England," said Professor Majid Ezzati of Imperial College.

"And decreases in life expectancy are rare in rich countries, and tend to occur only in the case of major adversities, such as wars and pandemics."

"That these falls occur in normal times is alarming," warns the professor specialized in environmental health, author of another study on life expectancy.

"Socioeconomic deprivation is closely connected to this trend. There has been a failure to address poverty and provide adequate social support and healthcare to the population."

The problem is most pressing in

Scotland

,

historically burdened with a gap of two or three years in life expectancy compared to the rest of the United Kingdom

.

And all the spotlights point to Glasgow and the Calton neighborhood, which became the one with the lowest life expectancy in Europe (54 years) in the midst of a

dramatic panorama of drugs, crime, unemployment and depression

.

The data has been updated since our last visit to Calton, and the average life expectancy for men is now 67.8 years and 76.6 for women.

Experts have coined the term the

Glasgow effect

to try to explain the excess mortality, which dates back to the deindustrialization of the 1970s, pollution, the poor quality of public housing, pockets of poverty and poor mobility. social in Scotland's second city.