Sir Michael Gideon Marmot CH FRCP FFPM FMedSci FBA (born 26 February 1945) is Professor of Epidemiology and Public Health at University College London. He is currently the Director of The UCL Institute of Health Equity. Marmot has led research groups on health inequalities for over thirty years, working for various international and governmental bodies. In 2023, he was elected to the American Philosophical Society.
In February 2010 he was commissioned by the Labour Government to conduct the Strategic Review of Health Inequalities in England. In 2020 he returned to this theme (Marmot review 10 years on), and found that life expectancy had failed to increase across the country, and for the poorest 10% of women it had actually declined. Over that decade health inequalities have widened overall, and the amount of time people spend in poor health has increased since 2010.
#Marmot2020 confirms an increase in the north/south health gap, where the largest decreases were seen in the most deprived 10% of neighbourhoods in the North East, and the largest increases in the least deprived 10% of neighbourhoods in London.
The Marmot Review - Key Points:
The more deprived the area, the shorter the life expectancy. This social gradient has become steeper over the last decade, and it is women in the most deprived 10% of areas for whom life expectancy fell from 2010-12 and 2016-18.
There are marked regional differences in life expectancy, particularly among people living in more deprived areas.
Mortality rates are increasing for men and women aged 45-49 – perhaps related to so-called ‘deaths of despair’ (suicide, drugs and alcohol abuse) as seen in the USA.
Child poverty has increased (22% compared to Europe’s lowest of 10% in Norway, Iceland and The Netherlands); children’s and youth centres have closed; funding for education is down.
There is a housing crisis and a rise in homelessness; people have insufficient money to lead a healthy life; and there are more ignored communities with poor conditions and little reason for hope.
