Australia's life expectancy gap narrows but men in disadvantaged areas dying almost seven years earlier
The study's lead author and ANU demographer, Sergey Timonin, said the gaps in life expectancy between the most advantaged and disadvantaged areas stopped widening just before the Covid pandemic began and did not significantly worsen during the lockdown years.
'Inequalities in life expectancy increased for many decades before peaking in 2017-2018,' Timonin said. 'Since then, there has been a positive trend toward narrowing these disparities, particularly among men.
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'During the pandemic, we found no evidence of a major widening in life expectancy inequality – a contrast with many other countries.'
Despite this, Australians living in the most disadvantaged areas in 2020-22 still had life expectancies that were 4.9 years (females) and 6.6 years (males) shorter than those living in the most affluent areas.
'It means that that approximately 10% of Australians living in the most disadvantaged socioeconomic areas live, on average, seven or five years less than the 10% who live in the most socioeconomically advanced areas,' Timonin said.
'So it decreased approximately half a year for males and 0.4 years for females, compared to the peak in 2017. The change is not that great, but the trend has changed.'
The research found that the three major causes of death consistently contributing to life expectancy gaps were lung cancer, chronic respiratory diseases and heart disease.
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Despite Australia's success in reducing smoking prevalence, smoking-related diseases, such as lung cancer, continue to perpetuate health disparities due to the lag between exposure and its long-term effects.
'In addition to chronic diseases, external causes such as suicide, road traffic injuries, and substance-related deaths also played a major role in life expectancy differences, particularly among men.'
The study compared life expectancy in Australian socioeconomically advantaged and disadvantaged areas with national averages in countries such as Japan, a global leader in longevity, and the US.
'Female life expectancy in all Australian areas by socioeconomic status sits between Japan and the US, while male life expectancy in Australia's five most advantaged areas, comprising around half the population, surpasses Japan's national average,' Timonin said.
'While this may be bad news for Americans, it is good news for Australians. Even in our most disadvantaged areas, life expectancy is higher than the US average for both men and women.'
The ANU researchers argue that continued monitoring of health inequalities is crucial for improving population health and informing effective policy.
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