Lifestyles must change to halt early death

LIFE expectancy for women in Oldham has failed to rise, according to the borough’s latest Public Health Report.

Although women are still living longer than men — 79.2 years compared with 75.2 — their life expectancy has not seen the steady increase that male life expectancy has.

However, neither gender fares well compared with the rest of the country as Oldham women have the 10th worst female life expectancy rate in England, and Oldham men are ranked 24th worst for male life expectancy.

Alan Higgins, director of public health, said: “It is of concern that life expectancy for women appears to have not changed significantly in each of the last three years for which there are measurements.

“This is being further analysed to understand what should be done to accelerate improvements.”

The annual report looks at a wide range of health statistics from infant mortality, causes of death and sexual health.

Heart problems, strokes, and cancer were the main causes of people dying early in Oldham.

However, cancer was the biggest cause of premature deaths for both men and women for the first time.

Mr Higgins said lifestyle changes such as stopping smoking, eating more fruit and vegetables, as well as early detection, could help stop the main causes of premature death.

He said: “The focus must be on services and activity that engage the communities in Oldham to reduce the demand on health and social care services.”




Health worry for Oldhamers

Figures show men in Oldham are expected to live to just over 75-years-old compared with the national average of just under 78.

Oldham women are expected to live to just over 79, three years less than the female national average of 82. Life expectancy rates have risen in Oldham but the borough still has a lower life expectancy than both the North-West and England average.



There is a 10.3 year gap between the lowest and highest life expectancy for men.

Men living in the Alexandra ward have the lowest life expectancy in the borough at 70.2-years-old.

Men in Saddleworth South have the highest life expectancy at 80.5.

Women in Alexandra have the lowest female life expectancy at 74.2-years-old, while women in Saddleworth South have the highest at 84.9.

Within the most deprived wards of Coldhurst and St Mary’s, life expectancy has been decreasing in recent years.



SOME 45,000 people in Oldham, 28 per cent of the adult population, are smokers — higher than the national estimate of 24 per cent.

If smoking decreased by 7 per cent in Oldham, life expectancy would increase by one year in the most deprived populations.



Between 2006-08, the highest infant mortality rates were in the wards of Shaw and St Mary’s with rates of 11.49 and 13.42 deaths per 1,000 births respectively.

There has been a significant reduction in infant deaths in Oldham over the last few years but they are still higher than the England and North-West averages.



Deaths from heart disease have fluctuated for both men and women aged under 75, unlike the national and regional rates which have shown a steady decline.

For both men and women, ischaemic heart disease (such as angina, heart attack and arrhythmia) and stroke are the main causes of death.



Oldham is the ninth-worst borough in the country for tooth decay in five-year-olds, and is the third worst in the North-West.

When trends are analysed, the level of tooth decay in five-year-old children has remained largely unchanged for 20 years.



Despite cancer mortality declining steadily both nationally and in the North-West for men and women, the rate in Oldham has fluctuated.

Lung cancer causes the most cancer deaths among men (51 per cent)and women (52 per cent).



Rates of conception for 15 to 17-year-olds have dropped from 60 per 1,000 in 1998-00 to 45 per 1,000 in 2006-08.

In Oldham, teenage pregnancy rates are similar to the North-West average but higher than the national average. Latest figures show the Oldham rate of conception continues to fall. Girls from the poorest background are 10 times more likely to become teenage mothers than girls from more affluent backgrounds.



Figures show between 1996 and 2007, suicides among women in Oldham dropped to their lowest level. Rates of suicide for men in Oldham have fluctuated during the same period.



IN 2006-07, premature deaths (deaths at under 75) for men were primarily circulatory diseases, followed by all cancers and then respiratory disease. In 2008, the main cause changed to cancer for the first time.

For women, the main causes of premature deaths remained as cancer.