Long before the coronavirus pandemic, which caused a global health crisis, a more disturbing story was unfolding in the UK: the kingdom experienced a grim decade during which about a quarter of a million people died prematurely, writes The Economist..

Life expectancy in the UK, like in other rich countries, has been rising for almost 200 years. But something went wrong in the early 2010s. Life expectancy today is 81 years - just eight weeks longer than in 2011. In the best-case scenario, where the pace of improvement between 1980 and 2011 had been maintained, life expectancy would already be above 83 years. This is not a small difference: it means that between 2012 and 2022, approximately 700,000 Britons died before they could.

Death occurs mainly in old age.. But the slowdown in life expectancy growth has also occurred among young adults and middle-aged adults.. Mortality among 30-49 year olds in the UK has been steadily rising since around 2012, in stark contrast to neighboring countries.

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Mortality is distributed not only between generations, but also by income level. Life expectancy has fallen among the poorest sections of society, but has risen among the richest.

The cumulative effect of the pandemic and global demographic trends can only explain part of the UK population gap. While other rich countries also faced slowdowns, Britain performed the worst among its European neighbors.. If we discard the effects associated with covid and the pan-European slowdown, about 700 thousand people, then there will be 250 thousand unexplained deaths.

Figuring out what went wrong isn't easy. In America, where life expectancy has fallen even further in recent years, the greatest harm has been caused by “desperate deaths” from drugs, alcohol, and suicide.. The same can be said for Scotland, where drug-related deaths have more than doubled in ten years.. Dundee is now Europe's capital for drug deaths. And while a similar problem may be brewing in England and Wales, the death rate from drugs in Scotland is almost four times higher..

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The recent difficulties of the National Health Service (NHS) played a role. Record long hospital waits and primary care crisis jeopardize timely treatment. But delays in medical care cannot explain all the additional deaths, especially before the pandemic.. In addition, the greatest increase in life expectancy comes not from treatment, but from better diagnosis, prevention, and greater prosperity.. This is where Britain seems to have failed.. She could do much better in all three areas.

First, diagnosis. Poor Britons are 20% more likely to be diagnosed with cancer at a later stage, when the disease is harder and more expensive to treat. Having more diagnostic centers would help with this, as well as reduce the backlog associated with the pandemic.. It would also be helpful to prescribe more statins for those at risk of heart attack or stroke.. Both methods are cheap and cost effective.. But with about one in 11 positions in the NHS vacant, it will be difficult to find enough radiologists and general practitioners to make a difference..

Further prevention. People are responsible for their own decisions, but public health measures, from vaccines to smoking cessation programs and weight loss, can improve the situation.. They also provide good value for money.. One study found that it cost almost four times more to get an extra year of good health through clinical interventions than through public health programs.. However, funding for the public health grant, which is allocated to local governments by the central government and represents only 2% of the NHS budget, has declined in recent years..

Ultimately, the biggest improvements will come from improving the living standards of the poor. Their lower life expectancy is due to many reasons, from less money they spend on home insulation or nutritious food, to stress due to financial insecurity.. One useful thing the government can do in the long run is to help improve the country's horrendous productivity record by liberalizing planning and delegating fiscal powers to local governments..

The government must also recognize the health consequences of deprivation. It would be a good idea to revise funding formulas in favor of general practitioners in the poorest areas. They serve 10% more patients than practices in the richest areas, but receive 7% less money. The data show that life expectancy has been hardest hit in regions that experienced the largest cuts in spending on housing services and adult social assistance between 2009 and 2019.