20% More People Die Early In The North

Around 37,000 more people a year go to their graves early in the North compared with the South.
Those living in places such as Yorkshire, Lancashire, and Tyne & Wear are 20% more likely to die before their time.
Every age group in the North is affected by a higher chance of a premature death.
And the difference in the numbers dying under 75 is at a 40 year high.
The report warns: “The North is being decimated at the rate of a major city every decade”.
The study, published in the British Medical Journal, says the biggest rise has been in the 20 to 34 age group, which has leapt to a 22% difference between North and South from level rates in 1965.
The study collated data from 1965 to 2008 which showed a persistent life expectancy gap of 14% over four decades, with men suffering more at 15% compared with women at 13%.
But the key figure was the current 20% gap in overall deaths under 75.