Fewer years of good health expected in Scotland

The number of years people in Scotland can expect to live in good health has fallen again, according to new figures.

The Healthy Life Expectancy 2018 - 2020 report for 2018 to 2022 shows that people in deprived communities have the fewest healthy years in life.

On average, they spend a third of their lives in poor health - 24 more years than those in the least deprived areas.

Across Scotland, healthy life expectancy was 60.9 years for males and 61.8 years for females.

These figures have dropped each year from 2018 to 2022 for females and for the past three years for males.

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The latest estimates have ben calculated by the National Records of Scotland (NRS), which is responsible for producing statistics on Scotland's population.

Statistics are drawn from the annual population survey (APS) where participants state whether they are in poor or good health.

'Continue a trend'

Statistician Maria Kaye-Bardgett said: "These figures continue a trend we have seen in recent years with healthy life expectancy falling for males and females.

"Healthy Life Expectancy is a key measure of health and wellbeing in Scotland. These figures are useful for those planning services to meet people's needs."

Orkney was the area with the highest healthy life expectancy for both males and females (71.2 years and 77.5 years).

The areas with the lowest number of years spent in good health were Inverclyde for males (54.4 years) and North Ayrshire for females (54.0 years).

With those in the most deprived areas also dying younger, they spent more than one third of their lives in poor health.

Those in the richest parts of Scotland lived about 15% of their lives in poor health.