Healthy life expectancy has fallen by two years in the UK - but one gender is worse off
Healthy life expectancy in the UK has declined by over two years in the past decade, with women experiencing a larger drop than men. The gap in healthy life expectancy between the most and least deprived areas is now 20.3 years for women, with those in poorer areas spending decades in poor health. Factors such as unpaid care responsibilities, gendered labor market patterns, and diagnostic delays contribute to the worsening health outcomes for women.
- ▪Healthy life expectancy in the UK has fallen by more than two years over the past decade, according to a Health Foundation analysis.
- ▪Women in the most deprived areas of England can expect 20.3 fewer years of healthy life compared to those in the least deprived areas.
- ▪Women are 29% more likely than men to be unpaid carers and nearly twice as likely to provide 35 or more hours of care per week.
- ▪Seventy-eight percent of social care workers in the UK are women, who are also overrepresented among minimum-wage workers.
- ▪Women in the UK currently wait an average of nine years for an endometriosis diagnosis, highlighting systemic diagnostic delays.
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NewsUKHome NewsHealthy life expectancy has fallen by two years in the UK - but one gender is worse offHealthy life expectancy, defined as the years we can expect to live in good health, has fallen over the past decadePhilip Broadbent The Conversation Wednesday 29 April 2026 10:24 BSTBookmarkCommentsGo to commentsBookmark popoverRemoved from bookmarksClose popover{"translations":{"comments":"Go to comments","share":"Share","copyLink":"Copy link","bookmark":"Bookmark","removeBookmark":"Remove bookmark"},"showComments":true,"showBookmark":true,"articleId":"CF1:2966509To1","articleMeta":{"url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/uk-healthy-life-expectancy-women-men-statistics-b2967050.html","title":"Healthy life expectancy falls by two years in the UK - but one gender is worse…
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