What is Healthy Life Expectancy?
As defined by the UK Government, Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) at birth is an estimate of the average number of years babies born this year would live in a state of ‘good’ general health if mortality levels at each age, and the level of good health at each age, remain constant in the future.
North East and England HLE data across time
For both men and women, HLE remains 4 years lower in the North East compared to England. Between 2011-2020, HLE has remained consistent for males in the North East and England at 59 and 63 years respectively. There has been more variation in female HLE across the same period. In England, female HLE was at 64 in 2011-13 and remained at 64 in 2018-20; however in the North East, female HLE has dropped by 0.61 years but remains at 60.
Male HLE remained lower than female HLE across both areas except in 2017-19 when female HLE dipped briefly in the North East to 59, and below the male value. This returned to 60 in 2018-20.
LA HLE data in 2018 - 2020
The average 2018-20 HLE varies significantly with respect to North East LAs and gender. At the regional and national level, North East HLE was lower than England by 4 years for both men and women.
Within five of the seven North East LAs, women had a higher HLE than men; the gap varied between 0.5 years and 1.5 years. Newcastle upon Tyne and North Tyneside had higher HLE for men; in North Tyneside men had a higher HLE by roughly 3.5 years.
North Tyneside had the highest HLE for men, at 62 years. The lowest was in Sunderland: 56 years. The highest HLE for women was 62 years in Northumberland, and the lowest was 57 in North Tyneside. North Tyneside had the highest gap in HLE, with men having a longer HLE by 4.5 years; the smallest gap in HLE between the genders was in Gateshead with both genders having a rounded HLE of 58.
What is the under 75s mortality rate?
The under 75s mortality rate measures the number of deaths of people under 75 in a given year and area in comparison to the total population in that same year and area.
The latest under 75s mortality data
In 2021, the under 75s mortality rate for men was greater in the North East, England, and the North East LAs. The under 75s mortality rate is lower in England than in the North East; in 2021; the rate for men in the North East was 0.5% and for women was 0.4%. This means that of all men and women under 75 in the North East, 0.5% of men died and 0.4% of women. These values compare to 0.4% and 0.3% respectively in England. If the under 75 mortality rate in the North East was the same as in England then 2,481 fewer people would have died.
The lowest mortality rate for men and women was in Newcastle: 0.4% for men and 0.3% for women. The highest mortality rate for men was in Sunderland at 0.6% and for women was 0.4% in both Sunderland and South Tyneside.