Life expectancy

• Tower Hamlets has the fifth lowest male life expectancy of all Local Authorities in the country.

Tower Hamlets has a lower proportion of people aged over 65 than the UK as a whole, comprising 9% of the population compared to 16% over 65s for the rest of England and Wales. Although pertaining to lower numbers of older people, life expectancy in the borough is low, putting us amongst the fifth of Local Authority areas with the lowest life expectancy rates and third worst in London (Figure 14). Average life expectancy is 6.2 years higher for females.

The relationship between early death and deprivation is well recognised. According to the Indices of Deprivation Tower Hamlets ranks as the second most deprived Local Authority in England. Of the 374 Local Authorities in the country, where a rank of 1 shows areas with highest life expectancy, Tower Hamlets is ranked as the 371st for low male life expectancy and 349th for low female life expectancy. Tower Hamlets is aiming to reduce this life expectancy gap with the rest of UK by at least 10% by 2010 in order to comply with the life expectancy floor target set by ODPM for local authorities.

The probability of dying between one birthday and the next according to gender is compared in figures 15 and 16. These tables show how life expectancy begins to diverge more sharply by gender for those beyond their mid-50s in Tower Hamlets as compared with the rest of London. This is measured as life expectancy for a sample 100,000 births.

Click here to view the Life expectancy graphs figures 14 - 16 (PDF 45k)

An average lower life expectancy to the rest of the country in Tower Hamlets does vary significantly at ward level (figure 17).

Click here to view life expectancy at ward level (PDF 88k)

A rank of 1 shows areas with high life expectancy, St Katherine’s and Wapping has a rank of –1.2, well above the national average. Life expectancy in Mile End East is ranked 10.3 however, well below the national average. Men living in St Katherine’s and Wapping enjoy on average ten more years of life than men living in Mile End East. Greatest gender differences in life expectancy are also seen in deprived areas. It is health care, quality of life and level of deprivation that effect variations in life expectancy by gender.