Report reveals health inequalities in Wales

Widespread inequalities in the health of people in Wales have been identified in a new report prepared for the Welsh National Assembly. Areas of the south Wales valleys rank worst on most of the indicators used by the researchers for the 1998 health survey. Rates of heart disease, respiratory illness, mental illness, arthritis, and back problems were all at their highest in the valleys where the population was also the least likely to take weekly exercise or eat green vegetables. The area also had some of the highest smoking rates. The report, based on replies to 50 000 detailed questionnaires sent out to adults by the Welsh Office, found …