Long-Term Monitoring of Health Inequalities
An annual report which summarises the long-term differences in health trends between the least and most deprived areas of Scotland.
Low Birthweight
Summary
- Inequalities are narrowing in both absolute and relative terms
Between 1998 and 2009 the number and percentage of low birthweight babies has been relatively stable. Around 3,000 low birthweight babies are born each year (around 5% of total live, singleton births in Scotland). As found previously, low birthweight babies are more common in deprived areas than in areas of low deprivation. In 2009 the percentage in the most deprived decile was 6.9 compared to 3.3 in the least deprived decile - a difference of 3.6 percentage points. However, inequalities have narrowed in both absolute (as demonstrated by the absolute range) and relative terms (as demonstrated by the RII). This is mainly due to a reduction in the most deprived deciles as the percentage of low birthweight babies in the least deprived decile has remained fairly stable in recent years.
Inequalities gradient in the most recent year available
Relative Index of Inequality ( RII) over time
Absolute range over time
Scale / context
| Number of low BW babies | Target population size (live singleton births) | Percentage | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 3,108 | 55,152 | 5.6 |
| 1999 | 3,098 | 52,726 | 5.9 |
| 2000 | 2,906 | 51,082 | 5.7 |
| 2001 | 2,848 | 49,752 | 5.7 |
| 2002 | 2,910 | 48,952 | 5.9 |
| 2003 | 3,026 | 50,071 | 6.0 |
| 2004 | 3,030 | 51,852 | 5.8 |
| 2005 | 3,056 | 51,372 | 5.9 |
| 2006 | 2,928 | 52,286 | 5.6 |
| 2007 1 | 3,095 | 55,086 | 5.6 |
| 2008 1 | 3,134 | 56,738 | 5.5 |
| 2009 | 2,896 | 55,797 | 5.2 |
1. The 2007 and 2008 data has been revised since the publication of the October 2010 report.
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