Those living in North Lanarkshire have lowest healthy life expectancy according to official data

Published this week, the National Records of Scotland (NRS) report shows estimated healthy life expectancy for both men and women has reached the lowest since records began in 2014.

Those living in North Lanarkshire have the lowest healthy life expectancy in the country according to official data.

Published this week, the National Records of Scotland (NRS) report shows estimated healthy life expectancy for both men and women has reached the lowest since records began in 2014.

The latest figures for 2021-23 show women can expect to live in good health for 60 years.

For men in Scotland, healthy life expectancy is slightly lower at 59.6 years.

Women living in North Lanarkshire can expect to enjoy just 52.5 years of good health while the figure for North Lanarkshire men is 52.4 years.

Professor Andrew Elder, President of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, said the college is “deeply concerned” by the findings and it must be a priority to fully understand the underlying factors.

He said: “Any decline in healthy life expectancy, when overall life expectancy remains static, leads to a longer period of ill health and often disability and dependency before death.

“This means that our social care networks, and health service, must be configured and strengthened to deal with people in this phase of their life.

The figures also reveal widening inequalities in healthy life expectancy across council areas and health boards.”

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Scots living in Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands, and Perth and Kinross are estimated to live for longer in good health.

Meanwhile, those in North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Dundee and Glasgow have the lowest healthy life expectancy.

Phillipa Haxton, head of vital events statistics at NRS, said: “Between mainland authorities there are big differences in healthy life expectancy at birth.

“North Lanarkshire and North Ayrshire have the lowest healthy life expectancies for males and females.

“This compares with Perth and Kinross where the average female has around 14 years longer healthy life expectancy and the average male around 13 years more spent in good health.”

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The findings are based on official statistics in development, with new methods of estimating healthy life expectancy and NRS says there is greater uncertainty in estimates for island authorities like Shetland and Orkney, given their smaller populations.

Healthy life expectancy is also falling in Wales and England, but it is higher in England for both men and women than in Scotland.

NRS plans to include estimates of healthy life expectancy by area deprivation and urban and rural areas in Scotland in its next release, to match that in England and Wales.

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