BACKGROUND: Post-industrial decline is frequently cited as one of the major underlying reasons behind the poor health profile of Scotland and, especially, West Central Scotland (WCS). This begs the question: to what extent is poor health a common outcome in other post-industrial regions and how does Scotland's experience compare to these other comparable regions? METHODS: Regions were identified by means of an expert-based consultation, backed up by analysis of regional industrial employment loss over the past 30 years. Mortality rates and related statistics were calculated from data obtained from national and regional statistical agencies. RESULTS: Twenty candidate regions (in: Belgium; France; Germany; Netherlands; UK; Poland; Czech Republic) were identified, of which ten were selected for in-depth analyses. WCS mortality rates are generally higher and-crucially-appear to be improving at a slower rate than in the other post-industrial regions. This relatively poor rate of improvement is largely driven by mortality among the younger working age (especially male) and middle-aged female populations. CONCLUSION: WCS mortality trends compare badly with other, similar, post-industrial regions of Europe, including regions in Eastern Europe which tend to be characterized by higher levels of poverty. This finding challenges any simplistic explanation of WCS's poor health being caused by post-industrial decline alone, and begs the question as to what other factors may be at work.
BACKGROUND: Post-industrial decline is frequently cited as one of the major underlying reasons behind the poor health profile of Scotland and, especially, West Central Scotland (WCS). This begs the question: to what extent is poor health a common outcome in other post-industrial regions and how does Scotland's experience compare to these other comparable regions? METHODS: Regions were identified by means of an expert-based consultation, backed up by analysis of regional industrial employment loss over the past 30 years. Mortality rates and related statistics were calculated from data obtained from national and regional statistical agencies. RESULTS: Twenty candidate regions (in: Belgium; France; Germany; Netherlands; UK; Poland; Czech Republic) were identified, of which ten were selected for in-depth analyses. WCS mortality rates are generally higher and-crucially-appear to be improving at a slower rate than in the other post-industrial regions. This relatively poor rate of improvement is largely driven by mortality among the younger working age (especially male) and middle-aged female populations. CONCLUSION: WCS mortality trends compare badly with other, similar, post-industrial regions of Europe, including regions in Eastern Europe which tend to be characterized by higher levels of poverty. This finding challenges any simplistic explanation of WCS's poor health being caused by post-industrial decline alone, and begs the question as to what other factors may be at work.
Authors: Linsay Gray; Juan Merlo; Jennifer Mindell; Johan Hallqvist; Jean Tafforeau; Dermot O'Reilly; Enrique Regidor; Øyvind Næss; Cecily Kelleher; Satu Helakorpi; Cornelia Lange; Alastair H Leyland Journal: Eur J Public Health Date: 2010-12-08 Impact factor: 3.367
Authors: Gerry McCartney; Martin Shipley; Carole Hart; George Davey-Smith; Mika Kivimäki; David Walsh; Graham C Watt; G David Batty Journal: PLoS One Date: 2012-07-11 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Joanne M McPeake; Martin Shaw; Anna O'Neill; Ewan Forrest; Alex Puxty; Tara Quasim; John Kinsella Journal: Crit Care Date: 2015-04-22 Impact factor: 9.097
Authors: Tony Robertson; G David Batty; Geoff Der; Michael J Green; Liane M McGlynn; Alan McIntyre; Paul G Shiels; Michaela Benzeval Journal: PLoS One Date: 2012-07-23 Impact factor: 3.240