SILHILLIANS have a higher life expectancy than others residents in the region – according to data revealed by the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA).
The authority’s State of the Region draft report noted that overall life expectancy in the West Midlands is below the national average with concerning figures showing an increase in the number of preventable deaths.
It showed that between 2021 and 2023, the life expectancy for women was 82.5 years and 78.4 for men – below the England average of 83.1 for women and 79.1 for men.
But the figures were an increase on the 2018 to 2020 period for the region of 81.9 years for women and 77.6 for men.
The report noted: “Solihull has the highest life expectancy, while Wolverhampton and Sandwell have the lowest.
“This disparity highlights the inequalities in health outcomes across the region.
“The region has also seen an increase in preventable deaths, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
The report noted environmental factors significantly impact health, with air quality being a critical indicator.
The report also revealed there had been a decline in deaths attributed to particulate air pollution within the West Midlands from 7.5 per cent in 2018 to 6.2 per cent in 2022.
It added: “Despite this progress, all seven local authorities of WMCA continue to experience higher mortality rates linked to air pollution compared to the national average of 5.8 per cent in 2022.”
The draft report said smoking rates have fallen in the region from 17.5 per cent in 2017/18 to 15.7 per cent in 2021/22.
However 9.5 per cent of people aged 16 to 59 reported drug use in 2023 and the WMCA area recorded 472 drug misuse deaths in 2020 to 2022.
The report stated the region had the lowest percentage of physically active children and young people at 49 per cent, while obesity rates among reception children were the highest in the country at 10.9 per cent.
The reported said: “By focusing on the socioeconomic causes of health inequalities, the region’s below average life expectancy and high levels of preventable deaths can be addressed.
“This requires public services to be reformed to be more integrated and more strongly focused upon prevention, with interventions built around the way people live their lives so that the socioeconomic causes of health inequalities can be addressed.”
