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LIFE EXPECTANCY OF WOMEN IN UK |
Rich women in Britain living
longer than ever
29 October, 2007
In the United Kingdom, life
expectancy for professional women has
gone up by 30 months to 85 years in
only the last four years, while the
disparity between the top and bottom
classes has widened.
Figures published by Britain's Office
for National Statistics on October 25,
2007, show that females in
high-status, well-paid jobs such as
medicine, law and finance are living
longer than ever. At the same time,
their counterparts in clerical and
manual jobs are struggling to keep
pace as their lifestyles and life
expectancy emulate that of their male
colleagues.
While diet, drinking, and smoking are
taking their toll on women in the
lower social classes, health experts
suggest that females at the top are in
better shape than ever, have quicker
access to healthcare, are no longer
dying from breast cancer, and can
afford better holidays.
Some epidemiologists also suggest that
women get a psychological boost from a
high-status job where they are largely
in control.
The Office for National Statistics
figures show that the life expectancy
at birth for women in the top social
class, or those who married into it,
soared
from 82.6 years in 2001 to 85.1 years
in 2005 – an increase of 2.5years.
During the same period, the life
expectancy for women in the lowest
social class – unskilled workers and
laborers – rose from 77.9 to 78.1
years, which is an increase of only 10
weeks.
As regards male mortality, the
opposite seems to be happening: life
expectancy in men has been catching up
with women over the past 30 years, but
since 2001, the increase fell
slightly, and the gap between the
social classes has narrowed a little.
In Britain, life expectancy for men in
the professional classes rose from
79.5 years in 2001 to 80 years in
2005. But, at the same time, the
lifespan for unskilled workers rose
from 71.5 to 72.7 years.
There is a similar scenario in life
expectancy from the age of 65. A women
in Social Class 1 now aged 65 was
expected to live to 85 in 2005, but is
now expected to carry on to 87.
However, the corresponding figures for
women in Social Class 5 only rose from
81.9 to 82.7 years.
Eric Brunner, a reader in epidemiology
at University College London, said he
could not fully explain the
acceleration in life expectancy for
woman in the top social classes in the
past four years. Access to cash and
high self-esteem has a big impact on
health and longevity, he stressed.
Women are also categorized in Social
Class 1 if they are married to men
working in the professions, so many of
them may be able to take on part-time
jobs or not work at all.
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