Health Inequalities & Lung Disease
Briefing: health inequalities and lung disease
This briefing from the British Lung Foundation explains the strong links between lung disease, deprivation and health inequalities. It outlines the main environmental drivers of lung disease – smoking, outdoor and indoor air pollution, and occupational hazards – and explains how socio-economic status affects exposure and outcomes.
It makes the case that, given tackling health inequalities is a UK government and NHS England priority, the need for a respiratory taskforce to drive improvements is overwhelming.
Overview
Health inequalities refer to preventable differences in health outcomes across different population groups such as geographical, race ethnicity, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status1.
In England, people living in the poorest areas will die, on average, seven years earlier than those in the richest areas. The gap in disability-free life expectancy is even greater at 13 years. The landmark report Fair Society, Healthy Lives by Sir Michael Marmot makes the case that reducing health inequalities is an urgent matter of social justice2.
The BLF’s Battle for Breath – the report of a three year epidemiological study into lung disease – is one of various publications that have explored the link between lung disease and levels of social deprivation, identifying inequalities in a range of lung conditions3. Overarching observations show:
- Lung cancer and COPD are considerably more common in the most deprived communities, due to their association with smoking.
- Outdoor air pollution, which is generally higher in deprived urban areas, is known to worsen symptoms of lung disease and can cause lung disease to develop – diesel is a classified carcinogen.
- Around 80% of mesothelioma cases occur in men. Those most at risk are people who have been exposed to asbestos while working in heavy industry or the armed forces.
