- Publication detail
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Many of the factors that contribute to ill health and early death are preventable. This interactive resource explores the leading causes of premature mortality in Warwickshire and highlights the conditions, behaviours and wider factors that have the greatest impact on life expectancy. Understanding these challenges helps us identify where action can make the biggest difference to improving health and helping people live longer, healthier lives.
- Executive summary
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Key insights include:
How long are people living in Warwickshire?
There is variation and inequality in life expectancy across Warwickshire’s districts and boroughs which links to levels of deprivation.
Out of the five districts and boroughs, Nuneaton and Bedworth and North Warwickshire have lower life expectancy than the average for England.
Stratford-on-Avon and Warwick Districts have higher life expectancy than England.
Females have a higher life expectancy than males.
Whilst life expectancy has generally increased over the last 20 years, recently it shows a pattern of stagnation across all districts and boroughs.
What are the biggest causes of early death in Warwickshire?
The biggest killers in the West Midlands in those aged under 70 are neoplasms (this is cancer when they are malignant) and cardiovascular disease. Together they account for over half of all deaths.
Cancer is one of the major causes of death in the West Midlands for those under 70. Lung cancer accounts for 7% of deaths, colon and rectum cancer accounts for 4.2% of deaths, and breast cancer accounts for 3.7% of deaths.
Cardiovascular disease, a general term for conditions affecting the heart or blood vessels, is one of the major causes of death in Warwickshire. Ischemic Heart Disease is one of these conditions and accounts for 15.6% of deaths for those aged 50-69 in the West Midlands in 2023, the largest single cause of deaths.
Liver disease is one of the top causes of death in England and in general rates have been worsening over the previous two decades. Cirrhosis and other liver diseases account for around 6% of all deaths in the West Midlands in those aged under 70.
Chronic respiratory disease is one of the top causes of death in England in those under 75. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), one of the major respiratory diseases, accounted for 4% of all deaths in those aged under 70 in the West Midlands, and smoking is the main cause.
Is there variation across the five districts and boroughs in Warwickshire?
Generally, rates of all four leading cases of death are worse in the north of Warwickshire and better in the south of Warwickshire. Nuneaton and Bedworth stands out due to the worsening picture over time when compared to England.
How long are people in Warwickshire living in good health and what drives poor health?
Healthy life expectancy (the number of years we can expect to live in good health) has fallen over recent years in Warwickshire. This means residents are spending more years in poor health.
In the past people in Warwickshire could expect to live in good health for longer than people in England generally, but this has changed.
For females, life expectancy is 83.3 years and healthy life expectancy is 61.8 years.
For males, life expectancy is 79.5 years and healthy life expectancy is 62.1 years.
There are multiple risk factors for preventable ill health. Some of the biggest for the leading causes of death are smoking, poor diet, physical inactivity, and harmful alcohol use, with smoking being by far the largest preventable risk factor.