Australia has made progress in reducing socio-economic inequalities in life expectancy since the late 2010s, according to new research from The Australian National University (ANU), setting the country apart from many other high-income countries.
The study, published in The Lancet Public Health, is led by demographers and population health researchers from ANU in collaboration with the University of Melbourne.
Study lead author and ANU demographer Dr Sergey Timonin said the study found that gaps in life expectancy between the most advantaged and disadvantaged areas stopped widening just before the outbreak of COVID-19 and did not significantly worsen during the pandemic.
"Inequalities in life expectancy increased for many decades before peaking in 2017-2018. Since then, there has been a positive trend toward narrowing these disparities, particularly among men," Dr Timonin said.
"During the pandemic, we found no evidence of a major widening in life expectancy inequality - a contrast with many other countries."
Despite the encouraging trend, Australians residing in the most disadvantaged areas in 2020-22 still had life expectancies that were 4.9 years (females) and 6.6 years (males) shorter than those living in the most affluent areas, highlighting the need for sustained public health efforts to reduce health inequalities and further improve longevity in Australia.
The study drew on integrated data sets from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), such as the Personal Linked Integrated Data Asset (PLIDA). It also used the ABS Index of Relative Socio-economic Advantage and Disadvantage (IRSAD) to capture economic and social conditions of people and households within an area.
"We found that three major causes of death consistently contribute to life expectancy gaps: lung cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, and heart disease," Dr Timonin said.
Despite Australia's remarkable success in tobacco control, smoking-related diseases, such as lung cancer, continue to perpetuate health disparities due to the lag between exposure and its long-term effects.
"In addition to chronic diseases, external causes such as suicide, road traffic injuries, and substance-related deaths also played a major role in life expectancy differences, particularly among men."
The study also placed Australia in an international context by comparing life expectancy in Australian socio-economically advantaged and disadvantaged areas with national averages in countries such as Japan, a global leader in longevity, and the United States (US).
"Female life expectancy in all Australian areas by socio-economic status sits between Japan and the US, while male life expectancy in Australia's five most advantaged areas (comprising around half the population) surpasses Japan's national average," Dr Timonin said.
"While this may be bad news for Americans, it is good news for Australians. Even in our most disadvantaged areas, life expectancy is higher than the US average for both men and women."
The ANU researchers argue that continued monitoring of health inequalities is crucial for improving population health and informing effective policy.
