Life expectancy for men born in Mansfield between 2021 and 2023 has declined, falling below pre-pandemic figures, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). A boy born in this period can expect to live 77.1 years, a drop from 77.9 years recorded for the period of 2017-2019, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. The decrease reflects a broader national trend of reduced life expectancy following the pandemic.
For women in Mansfield, life expectancy also saw a minor reduction, from 81.5 years before the pandemic to 81.2 years for those born between 2021 and 2023.
These figures underscore growing concerns about regional health disparities. The King’s Fund, a health think tank, highlighted that the government’s goal to improve healthy life expectancy and reduce the regional health gap is becoming “increasingly challenging,” as new data reveals significant inequality in health outcomes.
The East Midlands’ overall life expectancy averages 78.8 years for men and 82.6 years for women, with noticeable differences across regions. Areas in the South of England consistently report higher life expectancies, while regions in the North, as well as parts of Scotland and Wales, tend to have lower figures. Blackpool, in the North West, has now overtaken Glasgow as the area with the lowest male life expectancy in the UK.
Greg Ceely, ONS Head of Population Health Monitoring, noted that the data for 2021-2023 shows a decline compared to pre-pandemic figures. “This suggests we are still facing the effects of the pandemic on life expectancy, and recovery has not yet been fully realized,” he explained. The geographical divide in life expectancy remains stark, with men in the South East living, on average, three years longer than those in the North East. Similarly, women in London have a life expectancy 2.7 years higher than their counterparts in the North East.
Veena Raleigh, a senior fellow at the King’s Fund, emphasized the growing difficulty in meeting government health objectives. “Improving life expectancy and reducing regional disparities is increasingly difficult, and will require significant investment in public health,” she said. Raleigh argued that addressing health inequalities is not only an economic imperative but also a civic responsibility.
While these life expectancy estimates reflect the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the ONS has cautioned that improvements in mortality rates could lead to an increase in life expectancy for future generations, suggesting that the data does not necessarily indicate that children born in 2021-2023 will live shorter lives than those born just before the pandemic.
Related topics:
Luke Grimes’ Essential Gear: From Yellowstone to the Road
The Essential Role of Regular Health Check-ups for Men
Men’s Health Supplements Market Set for Robust Growth, Reaching $158 Billion by 2033
