In just 10 years, a child born in the west of scotland will die younger than a child born anywhere else in Europe
Special report by Health Correspondent Judith Duffy
Scotland's dreadful reputation as the sick man of Europe is confirmed today with the publication of a major new study that reveals some of the poorest areas of eastern Europe will shortly overtake our levels of life expectancy.
The report, jointly published by NHS Health Scotland and Glasgow Centre for Population Health, also questions the role of poverty and deprivation in Scotland's appalling health record. A key finding reveals that despite being wealthier, better educated and having less unemployment than similar regions in the UK and Europe, Scottish health is still improving at a slower rate. Even the poorest areas in countries such as Poland and the Czech Republic have experienced greater increases in life expectancy than Scotland.
Among the findings in the study were: l Scotland's life expectancy trends are improving more slowly than in almost every other comparable region.
- In about 10 years time, the west of Scotland will have the lowest life expectancy of all the regions, while residents in the poorest areas in Poland and the Czech Republic are expected to be living longer.
- Death rates in young working age men in the west of Scotland have been rising since the start of the 1990s, due to suicide, alcohol, drugs and violence - a phenomenon not being repeated in other European regions.
- Higher mortality rates are found in middle-aged women in the west of Scotland, because of cancer, lung and heart disease, stroke, chronic liver disease and cirrhosis.
- If Scotland had the same health record as Northern Ireland and Saxony in Germany, there would be 5000 fewer deaths every year.
Experts have now called for a radical reassessment of policies and initiatives aimed at improving the health of the nation. Phil Hanlon, professor of public health at Glasgow University, said: "It seems like there are whole cities that look like Castlemilk in eastern Europe and yet they are seeing this improvement."
