Long-Term Monitoring of Health Inequalities: Headline Indicators - October 2012

Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) - at birth

Summary

• A new methodology means change over time cannot be measured, but there continues to be inequalities in both relative and absolute terms.

The Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) indicator is based on two years of data to ensure large enough sample sizes. The results presented below for 2009/10 are replicated from the report published in October 2011, and will be updated next year with results for 2011/12.

Between 1999/2000 and 2007/2008, HLE increased by 3 years (4.5%) for males and 2.3 years (3.4%) for females. In 2009 the format of the self-assessed health question (on which the healthy life expectancy data is based) was changed to align with the European Union. This has led to a major discontinuity in the series. For both men and women, the markedly lower estimate of HLE at birth for Scotland for 2009 (8 years below the 2008 estimates for men and women) cannot be considered as part of the same series as earlier years, but represents the first point in a new time trend for future years. A technical paper by the Scottish Public Health Observatory (ScotPHO) has more information on this change^[5]

In 2009/2010, HLE at Scotland level for males was 59.9 years (16.3 years less than life expectancy) and HLE for females was 62.1 years (18.6 years less than life expectancy). HLE in deprived areas is lower for both males and females than HLE in areas of low deprivation. In 2009/2010, HLE of those living in the most deprived decile was 22.5 years lower for males and 22.1 years lower for females than HLE of those living in the least deprived decile. The difference between HLE and life expectancy (expected years spent in 'not good' health) is also notably greater in more deprived areas: for males - 21.3 years in 'not good' health in the most deprived decile compared with 12.1 years in the least deprived decile; and for females - 24.9 years in 'not good' health in the most deprived decile compared with 11.6 years in the least deprived decile.

Inequalities gradient in the most recent year available

(Note: the red bars for each column indicate the uncertainties in each estimate of HLE).

Relative Index of Inequality (RII) over time

Data not available for 2003/2004

Absolute range over time

Data not available for 2003/2004.
The red bars for each column indicate the uncertainties in each estimate of absolute difference in HLE.

Scale / context

New Methodology (5 point scale of self-assessed health), 2009/2010

1. From 2009 Self-assessed health was measured on a five-point scale (Very good, Good, Fair, Bad, Very bad). For summary purposes the final three categories (Fair, Bad, Very Bad) are collectively referred to as 'Not good health'. This is different to the category of 'Poor health' in the subsequent two tables.

Previous Methodology (3-point scale of self-assessed health), 1999/2000 to 2007/2008

1. Prior to 2009 Self-assessed health was measured on a three-point scale (Good, Fairly good, Not good). For summary purposes 'Not good' responses were counted as 'Poor health'. This is not comparable to the category of 'Not good health' used from 2009 onwards.