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Health of people in England did not improve in the years before the pandemic

BMJ 2022; 376 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.o744 (Published 21 March 2022) Cite this as: BMJ 2022;376:o744
  1. Jacqui Wise
  1. Kent

The overall health of the population in England did not improve in the five years before the coronavirus pandemic, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).1

The Health Index for England, an experimental statistic developed by the ONS, broadly remained stable between 2015 and 2019. This index provides a single value for health, showing how it changes over time and what is driving these changes. It includes health outcomes and factors that are known to contribute to health such as air pollution and crime.

Health index data for 2020 will be released later this year. In a blog Greg Ceely, head of health index and projections at the ONS, wrote that these results show the health of the nation in the calm before the storm. …

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