3.48. In the seventy years since the founding of the NHS, life expectancy has increased by around 13 years [106]. But different types of diseases are becoming more common. More people are living with cancer or dementia largely due to increases in life expectancy and falls in the rate of premature death [107]. With advances in prevention and medical care the UK mortality rate from heart and circulatory diseases has declined by more than three quarters in the last 40 years [108]. But cardiovascular disease remains the biggest cause of premature mortality and the rate of improvement has slowed [109].

3.49. Longer-term health conditions also make an increasing contribution to the overall burden of disease [110]. Mental health, respiratory and musculoskeletal conditions are responsible for a substantial amount of poor health, and place a substantial burden on the NHS and other care services [111].

3.50. The latest Global Burden of Disease study shows that the top five causes of early death for the people of England are: heart disease and stroke, cancer, respiratory conditions, dementias, and self-harm [112]. It also reveals that the slower improvement since 2010 in years-of-life-lost is “mainly driven by distinct condition-specific trends, predominantly in cardiovascular diseases and some cancers”. We have therefore used these GBD findings to help frame the improvement priorities in the Long Term Plan.

References

106. Office for National Statistics (2018) 2016 based England and Wales period life expectancies, 1948 to 2016. Available from: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/lifeexpectancies/
adhocs/0085772016basedenglandandwalesperiodlifeexpectancies1948to2016

107. Steel, N., Ford, J., Newton, J., Davis, A., Vos, T. & Naghavi, M. et al. (2018) Changes in health in the countries of the UK and 150 English Local Authority areas 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. The Lancet. 392 (10158), 1647-1661. Available from:
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32207-4

108. British Heart Foundation (2018) UK Factsheet November 2018. Available from:
https://www.bhf.org.uk/-/media/files/research/heart-statistics/bhf-cvd-statistics—uk-factsheet.pdf

109. Steel, N., Ford, J., Newton, J., Davis, A., Vos, T. & Naghavi, M. et al. (2018) Changes in health in the countries of the UK and 150 English Local Authority areas 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. The Lancet. 392 (10158), 1647-1661. Available from:
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32207-4

110. Steel, N., Ford, J., Newton, J., Davis, A., Vos, T. & Naghavi, M. et al. (2018) Changes in health in the countries of the UK and 150 English Local Authority areas 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. The Lancet. 392 (10158), 1647-1661. Available from:
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32207-4

111. Stafford, M., Steventon, A., Thorlby, R., Fisher, R., Turton, C. & Deeny, S. (2018) Understanding the health care needs of people with multiple health conditions. The Health Foundation. Available from: https://www.health.org.uk/publications/understanding-the-health-care-needs-of-people-with-multiple-health-conditions

112. S Steel, N., Ford, J., Newton, J., Davis, A., Vos, T. & Naghavi, M. et al. (2018) Changes in health in the countries of the UK and 150 English Local Authority areas 1990–2016: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2016. The Lancet. 392 (10158), 1647-1661. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(18)32207-4