Glasgow: health in a changing city shows that life expectancy across the city is improving – but there are some longstanding issues and new trends which need attention. 

Key messages from the report highlight:

• Life expectancy in Glasgow is improving, but the longstanding gap in life expectancy between Glasgow and Scotland, has not narrowed.
• Over the last 15 years, male and female life expectancy has improved in both affluent and deprived areas across the city. For men, however, a persistent gap of at least 13 years has existed between the most and least deprived areas since the 1990s.
• There are emerging concerns for women. The female gap in life expectancy between the most and least deprived areas has widened, from 8.1 years to 10.7 years since the 1990s. Improvements in female life expectancy have not been as great as for men, meaning the gender gap has also narrowed.

Bruce Whyte, Public Health Programme Manager, and author of the report commented: 

“Glasgow is indeed a changing city. The population is growing and becoming more culturally diverse, and many parts of the city are being regenerated. However, the findings of this study focus on a stubborn problem which is this, that while health improves, the health gap between the most affluent and least affluent in the city remains wide and in relation to women's life expectancy that gap has widened further in the last 15 years. 

Addressing health inequality, and other aspects of inequality, is now a central priority of government policy. Evidence of effective ways to reduce inequality is well-documented. What is needed to turn around these trends is concerted action to address the fundamental causes of health inequality.” 

For more information on the findings of the report, see our media briefing (PDF).

Read coverage of the report in the Sunday Herald, as well as a comment piece from Bruce Whyte.

Download Glasgow: health in a changing city 

More information on Glasgow’s life expectancy