A third of premature deaths in England are linked to social inequality, study finds

Almost 900 000 deaths in England over the past decade and a half have occurred prematurely because of social inequalities, a study has concluded.1

Researchers at University College London examined records from the UK Office for National Statistics to study 2.5 million premature deaths (defined as those before the age of 75) between 2003 and 2018. They calculated mortality rates for 33 000 neighbourhoods, graded in terms of levels of deprivation.

The study, published in The Lancet Public Health, found that one in three deaths (877 082, 35.6% (95% confidence interval, 35.3 to 35.9)) were attributable to socioeconomic and …