L.A. County death rate drops 22%, By Molly Hennessy-Fiske, August 5, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “Los Angeles County’s death rate has dropped significantly in recent years, according to a report released this week by the county’s Department of Public Health. The drop, 22% countywide from 1998 to 2007, came as fewer county residents died from many chronic illnesses. Still, significant disparities persist among racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups. ‘There’s a lot of good news here,’ said Gerald Kominski, associate director of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research. ‘There’s a lot of reasons to think Los Angeles County would be doing worse than other areas – we have a high proportion of uninsured residents and a high percentage of people in poverty. But despite that, we continue to improve.’ The news comes about a week after public health officials reported the county’s average life expectancy increased to 80.3 years in 2006, up from 75.8 years in 1991 when the department started tracking it…”
Tag: Life expectancy
Income and Health Inequalities – Britain
- Poorest in England ‘live seven years less on average’, By Jane Dreaper, February 11, 2010, BBC News: “People in England’s poorest areas live an average of seven years less than those in the richest ones, says a major report on health inequalities. Epidemiologist Sir Michael Marmot, says the NHS must spend much more on preventing illness. And he calls for an increase in the minimum wage to allow everyone to have a healthy lifestyle. Health Secretary Andy Burnham has welcomed the government-commissioned report and said more work was needed. The Marmot Review shows that although life expectancy has risen in poor and rich areas, inequalities persist…”
- Well-off people ‘live seven years longer than those in poorer groups’, By Kate Devlin, February 11, 2010, The Telegraph: “Ministers must act to reduce the gulf between rich and poor, the review, commissioned by the Department of Health, says. Targets to raise life expectancy should be set across each different social class, and updated every 10 years, it recommends. It also suggests parents should be able to share a year of paid leave after having a child, at a level high enough to sustain a healthy life. Action is needed to improve the health of all, according to the report by Prof Sir Michael Marmot, from University College London, but particular attention should be paid to those on the bottom rungs of the social ladder…”