Life expectancy is one of the longest standing measures of health status in England and the first official life tables were published in 1839.  Since its inception life expectancy has been used to highlight variations in mortality experience between geographical regions of the country.

Life expectancy for men at 65-years-old in York in 2007-2009 was 18.9 years and for the period 2011-2013 this has fallen by half a year to 18.4.  The UK life expectancy figures for 65-year-old men in 2008 and 2012 were 17.6 and 18.5 respectively so in effect, the rest of the UK has caught up with York.

Life expectancy for women at 65-years-old in York in 2007-2009 was 21.1 years and for the period 2011-2013 this has risen by half a year to 21.6.  The UK life expectancy figures for 65-year-old women in 2008 and 2012 were 20.2 and 20.9 respectively.  So York is maintaining its better than average position.

Julie Hotchkiss, the council’s Acting Director of Public Health added: “What is particularly interesting to note is that these results show the reverse of the life expectancy gap between the well-off and the poor, where the gap is reducing in men, but increasing in women.  It could bee that more affluent women are living longer while those who are less well-off are either staying the same or worsening.  We will be watching this trend to see what we can learn.”