Study finds Covid-19 mortality worse in deprived areas

Young people in the most deprived areas were more likely to die from Covid-19 than young people in the most affluent areas, according to research from the universities of York and Manchester.

The researchers used ‘Year of Life Lost’ (YLL) to measure premature mortality, looking at the ‘excess’ years lost during the pandemic compared with previous years.

They found that during the first year of the pandemic, an estimated 268 excess deaths caused specifically by Covid-19 and respiratory illness occurred in 15-44 year-olds in the most deprived areas.

In comparison, only 51 excess deaths occurred in the same age group in the most affluent places.

The unequal differences were most pronounced in younger people, with 11 times as many young people dying excessively from all causes during the first year of the pandemic.

Professor Evan Kontopantelis, from the University of Manchester, said: ‘The pandemic widened pre-existing health inequalities across England and Wales: regions and social groups with the highest baseline mortality rates experienced the greatest impact on years of life lost.

‘Linked to this, we think the impact of the pandemic may have been higher than previously thought on the most deprived areas of England and Wales, with more younger people dying directly or indirectly from Covid-19 in these areas.’

In addition to the deaths caused by Covid-19, longstanding socioeconomic and geographical health inequalities for a range of other conditions also worsened during the pandemic, according to the research team.

In related news, decreasing local government funding over recent years probably contributed to declines in life expectancy in some areas of England, which was stalling even prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to researchers at the University of Liverpool.

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