title: The Geography of a rapid rise in elderly mortality in England and Wales, 2014-15.
abstract: Since at least the early 1900s almost all affluent nations in the world have continually experienced improvements in human longevity. Using ONS mid-year population and deaths estimates for Local Authorities for England and Wales, we show that these improvements have recently reversed. We estimate that in England and Wales there were 39,074 more deaths in the year to July 2015 as compared to the year to July 2014 (32,208 of these were of individuals aged 80+). We demonstrate that these increases occurred almost everywhere geographically; in poor and affluent areas, in rural and urban areas. The implications of our findings are profound given what has come before them, combined with the current political climate of austerity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography & Planning, University of Liverpool, Roxby Building, Liverpool L69 7ZT, UK. Electronic address: mark.green@liverpool.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford, St. Peter's College, New Inn Hall Street, Oxford OX1 2DL, UK. Electronic address: danny.dorling@ouce.ox.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Danny
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dorling
authors.affiliation: School of Social and Political Sciences, University of Glasgow, 25 Bute Gardens, Glasgow G12 8RS, UK. Electronic address: Jonathan.Minton@glasgow.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jon
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Minton
mesh_terms: D017677:Age Distribution; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004739:England / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D062306:Geography, Medical; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012424:Rural Population; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014852:Wales / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: Elderly; England and Wales; Epidemiology; Health geography; Mortality