Official Statistics

Segment Tool: statistical commentary, May 2019

Published 22 May 2019

Main findings

This update shows:

• in 2015 to 2017, life expectancy for males in England was 7.7 years lower in the most deprived fifth of areas compared with the least deprived fifth of areas - for females, the gap was 6.1 years
• for both sexes, almost two-thirds of the gap in England was due to higher mortality rates from circulatory disease, cancer and respiratory disease in the most deprived fifth of areas compared with the least deprived fifth
• for males, a quarter of the gap (25.8%) was due to higher mortality rates from circulatory disease in the most deprived fifth of areas
• for females, higher mortality rates from cancer in the most deprived fifth of areas made the largest contribution to the gap (22.6%)
• breakdowns for a more detailed set of causes of death show that, within the 3 broad cause groups above, heart disease, lung cancer, and chronic lower respiratory disease are the main contributors to the life expectancy gap for both males and females
• in many local areas, higher mortality from circulatory disease, cancer, and respiratory disease are the main contributors to the life expectancy gap; however, there are variations at local level, and some areas where other causes of death make large contributions to the gap
• the breakdown of the gap by age group shows that over half of the life expectancy gap in England is due to higher mortality rates amongst those aged over 60 in the most deprived fifth of areas compared with the least deprived fifth for both males and females; as with the breakdowns by cause of death, there are variations at local level

Background

The Segment Tool provides information on the causes of death and age groups that are driving inequalities in life expectancy at local area level. Targeting the causes of death and age groups which contribute most to the life expectancy gap should have the biggest impact on reducing inequalities.

The Segment Tool was first published in January 2014, and last updated in May 2016. The following changes have been made to the Segment Tool since the previous update in May 2016:

• the tool has been redeveloped as an interactive web tool (using Rshiny software), replacing the previous Excel based tool and PDF reports
• data has been updated for years 2015 to 2017
• the methodology used to calculate the contributions of causes of death to life expectancy gaps has been revised for consistency with analysis presented in the Health Profile for England inequalities chapter
• the detailed cause of death groups have been revised for consistency with the Health Profile for England analysis
• the contribution of specific age groups to life expectancy gaps have been added

The methodology changes mean that the latest version of the Segment Tool is not comparable with previous versions of the tool, so older versions have been removed from the website.

Figures in the Segment Tool are based on the breakdown of the gap between the most deprived fifth of areas (most deprived quintile) and the least deprived fifth of areas (least deprived quintile). This gap differs from the slope index of inequality in life expectancy presented in the Health Inequalities Dashboard and Public Health Outcomes Framework.

View the Segment Tool.

Responsible statistician, product lead: Charlotte Fellows

For queries relating to this document, please contact: profilefeedback@phe.gov.uk