Sunday, November 12, 2017

“something toxic in our society”

Britain’s most socially excluded groups are 10 times more likely to die early than the general population, according to analysis showing inequality is more pronounced than is documented. Women in socially excluded groups are 12 times more likely to die than other women of the same age, while men are eight times more likely.

Excluded people were more likely to be murdered or commit suicide and more likely to die from accidents, overdoses, infectious diseases, cancers, liver disease, heart problems and respiratory diseases. More than half a million people in England could be categorised as living in extreme social exclusion, according to Andrew Hayward of the UCL’s institute of epidemiology and healthcare although the true figure is likely to be much higher.

Socially excluded groups have a mortality rate double that of US combat troops deployed during the Iraq insurgency between 2003 and 2006, according to the research carried out by University College London, the homeless health charity Pathway, and an international team of experts.

Individuals living in the poorest neighbourhoods suffer between two and three times the mortality rate of those in the most affluent.

 Hayward said, “Exclusion, and its health consequences, often result from many years of multiple problems such as poverty, adverse experiences and psychological trauma during childhood.” He highlighted that “The extent of the disparities in wealthy countries is an affront to our values. Socially excluded groups are the canaries in the mine – they point to something toxic in our society.” 

Robert Aldridge, from the UCL’s institute of health informatics, said: “We know that excluded populations suffer from lack of access to basic healthcare, but this new research shows the frightening extent of the problem: it’s much worse than we thought. People experiencing homelessness, those with drug addictions, prisoners and those who sell sex are far more likely to develop serious health problems and die early.”

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