LIFE expectancy has fallen in County Durham, along with rises in smoking, suicides and child obesity in the wake of Covid-19, figures reveal.

The “worrying” statistics were part of a performance report presented to a Durham County Council cabinet meeting.

Paul Darby, the council’s corporate director of resources, said: “There has been a reduction in life expectancy on the back of the pandemic, with male life expectancy falling by seven months and female life expectancy falling by six months.

“In Durham life expectancy was already below the national averages and there remains significant disparities on life expectancy across the county.

“The pandemic has made it more difficult for people to participate in sport and activity.

“And worryingly this has also manifested itself in an increase in childhood obesity, as well as the percentage of adults being overweight.

“Smoking prevalence has also increased from 15% to 17%, with 15% of mothers smoking at the time of delivery compared to the national average of around 9%.

“There are continuing concerns about the long-term impacts of Covid on children’s education and wellbeing.

“There are still 24% of all children eligible for free school meals that are not accessing them currently.”

He told how the employment rate and number of businesses per head were below regional and national averages, with youth unemployment “a particular concern”, but 460 new businesses had opened since April 2020.

The report also states: “There was also an increase in the suicide rate which remains higher than the national figure.

“Poverty pressures continue to be a major issue and we expect the situation to deteriorate as basic living costs continue to rise, hitting those with little disposable income hard.”

The Northern Echo: Cllr Amanda Hopgood, leader of Durham County Council.

Councillor Amanda Hopgood, leader of the council, said: “The pandemic has impacted in many ways, with an increase in demand for drug and alcohol support services being just one area we need to keep a close eye on.

“Many households in our county are undoubtedly struggling currently with increased cost of living and the impact of the withdrawal of the Universal Credit temporary uplift and the ending of the furlough scheme.

“These are very real issues which we need to work with partners to address and help alleviate the impacts through our support to vulnerable households.

“Once again the health inequalities and challenges we face in our county are highlighted with a worrying deterioration in health life expectancy flagged for both men and women, alongside an increase in the prevalence of smoking and an increase in childhood obesity being of particular concern.

“These are system-wide challenges and can only be addressed by a multi-agency and partnership response focusing our efforts on to improving wellbeing and tackling the wider detriments of public health.”

She also referred to impacts of the pandemic on jobs, retail, hospitality and town centres.

The same meeting later heard of the council’s ongoing efforts to combat poverty.

The “stalling” of life expectancy and smoking rises were also mentioned in a public health presentation to the full council last week.

At that meeting, Cllr David Boyes said: “Life expectancy has stalled for the first time in about 100 years.

“And if we drill down further, some of our most deprived communities are expected to live seven years less than some of the better off communities in County Durham.

“This is a sad indictment on what’s happened over the last 10 years.

“We are in the situation now where even if somebody is lucky enough to reach average life expectancy, the chances are if you’re in a deprived community, it’s going to be 17 years of poor health.”

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