Congenital anomaly statistics were published for 2004.
Source: Congenital Anomaly Statistics: A statistical review of notifications of congenital anomalies received as part of the England and Wales National Congenital Anomaly System, 2004, Series MB3 19, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: Report
Date: 2005-Dec
Statistics on life expectancy at birth for males and females were published for health and local authorities in the United Kingdom.
Source: Life Expectancy at Birth by Health and Local Authorities in the United Kingdom 1991-1993 to 2002-2004, Office for National Statistics (web publication)
Links: Report | ONS press release
Date: 2005-Nov
An article examined how best to identify the leading causes of mortality in England and Wales, by using different ways of grouping causes of death, based on a list developed by the World Health Organization.
Source: Clare Griffiths, Cleo Rooney and Anita Brock, 'Leading causes of death in England and Wales how should we group causes?', Health Statistics Quarterly 28, Winter 2005, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article | ONS press release
Date: 2005-Nov
An article presented the latest figures on male and female life expectancy at birth for Government Office Regions and local authorities in England and Wales for 2002 2004.
Source: 'Life expectancy at birth by local authorities in England and Wales, 2002 2004', Health Statistics Quarterly 28, Winter 2005, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article | ONS press release
Date: 2005-Nov
An article used the ONS Longitudinal Study to explore, for a cohort of adult males aged 26 or over in 1971, the relative influence on mortality in 1995 2001 of their place of residence and individual socioeconomic circumstances, at three censuses over a 20-year stages in the life-course.
Source: C. White, R. Wiggins, D. Blane, A. Whitworth and M. Glickman, 'Person, place or time? The effect of individual circumstances, area and changes over time on mortality in men, 1995 2001', Health Statistics Quarterly 28, Winter 2005, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article | ONS press release
Date: 2005-Nov
An article presented statistics on stillbirths and infant deaths registered in England and Wales that occurred in 2004 and had been linked to their corresponding birth records.
Source: 'Infant and perinatal mortality by social and biological factors, 2004', Health Statistics Quarterly 28, Winter 2005, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article | ONS press release
Date: 2005-Nov
A think-tank report said that reforms to patient choice in the National Health Service could help reduce health inequalities. It recommended a set of measures to make healthcare choices effective for the worst off social groups, who were prevented from exercising full choices by lack of information and knowledge, language problems, inadequate access to transport and information technology, or disability.
Source: Joe Farrington-Douglas and Jessica Allen, Equitable Choices for Health, Institute for Public Policy Research (020 7470 6100)
Links: Summary | IPPR press release
Date: 2005-Nov
A paper said that mortality at age 70 could fall by three-quarters over the coming 40 years (equivalent to an average improvement of 3.5 per cent every year).
Source: Stephen Richards, James Kirkby and Iain Currie, The Importance of Year of Birth in Two-dimensional Mortality Data, Actuarial Profession (formerly Institute of Actuaries) (01865 268205)
Links: Paper (pdf) | Actuarial Profession press release
Date: 2005-Oct
Life expectancy results for administrative areas within Scotland were published. Life expectancy at birth was 73.8 years for males and 79.0 years for females: but this varied considerably between individual areas in Scotland.
Source: Life Expectancy for Administrative Areas within Scotland, 2002-2004, General Register Office for Scotland (0131 314 4243)
Links: Report (pdf) | SE press release
Date: 2005-Oct
Data from the Continuous Mortality Investigations Bureau (adviser to pensions fund actuaries) reportedly predicted that a man born in 1950 would live to just under 90. It found a general fall in mortality rates of around 30 per cent since the last round of research was carried out in 1994.
Source: Careandhealth magazine, 30 September 2005
Links: Careandhealth report | CIPD press release
Date: 2005-Sep
An article investigated whether the decline in the sudden infant death rates and the rise in unascertained death rates during the period 1995 2003 were linked. It concluded that changes in certification practices surrounding sudden infant deaths and unascertained infant deaths suggested that it was becoming more difficult to distinguish between these two causes of death.
Source: Tania Corbin, 'Investigation into sudden infant deaths and unascertained infant deaths in England and Wales, 1995 2003', Health Statistics Quarterly 27, Autumn 2005, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article (pdf) | Children Now report
Date: 2005-Aug
Between 2003 and 2004 the unexplained infant death rate decreased by 15 per cent (from 0.48 to 0.41 deaths per 1,000 live births).
Source: 'Unexplained deaths in infancy, 2004', Health Statistics Quarterly 27, Autumn 2005, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article (pdf) | FSID press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Aug
An article described the pattern of mortality by day of the week in deaths from suicide and drug-related poisoning. An increased proportion of suicides occurred on Mondays.
Source: Helen Johnson, Anita Brock, Clare Griffiths and Cleo Rooney, 'Mortality from suicide and drug-related poisoning by day of the week in England and Wales, 1993 2002', Health Statistics Quarterly 27, Autumn 2005, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article (pdf)
Date: 2005-Aug
The Office for National Statistics proposed (following a review) a new series on healthy life expectancy that would provide an estimate for the United Kingdom as a whole, for the first time, by including information from Northern Ireland; and include improved estimates of general health rates for children aged under 16.
Source: Claudia Breakwell and Madhavi Bajekal, 'Review of sources and methods to monitor healthy life expectancy', Health Statistics Quarterly 26, Summer 2005, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article (pdf)
Date: 2005-May
An article reported numbers of deaths registered in England and Wales in 2004 by age, sex, and selected underlying cause of death. Provisional age-standardized death rates (adjusted to take account of the age structure of the population) in 2004 decreased by 5.4 per cent, from 8,009 deaths registered per million population for males in 2003 to 7,576 in 2004; and by 5.5 per cent for females, from 5,587 in 2003 to 5,279 in 2004.
Source: 'Death registrations in England and Wales in 2004: causes', Health Statistics Quarterly 26, Summer 2005, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article (pdf) | ONS press release (pdf) | Guardian report
Date: 2005-May
The infant mortality rate (deaths under one year) in England and Wales increased to 5.3 per 1,000 live births in 2003, from 5.2 in 2002. This was the first increase in the rate since 1999.
Source: Childhood, Infant and Perinatal Mortality, Series DH3 36, Office for National Statistics (0845 601 3034)
Links: Report (pdf) | ONS press release (pdf)
Date: 2005-Mar
A report said that people in Wales were living longer, with average life expectancy for men rising in 2002 to 75.5 years (from 75.3 years in 2001) and for women of 80.1 years (80 in 2001): but there were substantial geographical variations. Some 18-23 per cent of the population reported a limiting long-term illness.
Source: Health Status Wales 2004-05, Office of the Chief Medical Officer/Welsh Assembly Government (029 2082 5111)
Links: Report (pdf) | WAG press release
Date: 2005-Feb
An article examined the magnitude of inequalities in health by area deprivation in England. Males and females living in the most deprived wards spent twice as many years in poor health, both in absolute (years of life) and relative (proportion of life) terms, than those living in the least deprived wards.
Source: Madhavi Bajekal, 'Healthy life expectancy by area deprivation: magnitude and trends in England, 1994 1999', Health Statistics Quarterly 25, Spring 2005, Office for National Statistics, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Article (pdf) | HDA press release | Guardian report
Date: 2005-Feb