Report into regional health inequalities in Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland’s Department of Health has today published their 2016 regional report on health inequalities.
Health outcomes are generally worse in the most deprived when compared with the least deprived areas.
The report found that overall life expectancy from birth has continued to improve.
The report revealed that life expectancy at birth has continued to improve in the North of Ireland.
Life expectancy was 78.3 years for males and 82.3 years for females in 2012 to 2014, with the inequality gap narrowing for males over the last five years, while remaining constant for females.
The teenage birth rate in the most deprived areas was found to be over five times the rate observed in the least deprived areas in 2014.
Alcohol, smoking and drug related indicators continue to show some of the largest health inequalities analysed.
Smoking during pregnancy in the most deprived areas was more than four times the rate among mothers in the least deprived areas in 2015.
Inequality gaps related to mental health outcomes have narrowed over the last five years, with rates of suicide and self-harm admissions in the most deprived areas three and four times respectively the rate in the least deprived.