Leeds life expectancy drops with women most affected by downward trend

The female population is most affected by a downward trend which began before the Covid-19 pandemic, councillors have been told.

While inequalities in life expectancy remain between deprived and affluent areas, all social groups are affected by the decline.

Leeds City Council’s Adults, Health and Active Lifestyles scrutiny board was told life expectancy rates had been static for around a decade but since declined slightly.

Victoria Eaton, the council’s director of public health, said the current decline was part of a national trend.

She said: “It’s declining across all groups no matter the social-economic status.

“And this is a trend we are seeing nationally. I think it’s a real wake up call, around that flatlining over the last decade actually now turning into decline, and the decline in women’s life expectancy is statistically significant.”

A report to the meeting said the average life expectancy of a baby boy born in Leeds between 2019 and 2021 was estimated to be 77.6 years.

For girls born in the same period the figure was 81.4 years, down from 81.9 between 2011-2013.

The report said: “There is a slight, but statistically significant reduction compared to the previous period.

“Decreasing life expectancy is occurring in both the most deprived and least deprived groups.

“Further work is underway to understand this in more detail. Average life expectancy for males and females in Leeds has also continued to decrease since the last report. The rate of decrease has been greater for women.”