Leyton residents are 50% more likely to die a preventable death before 75 than those in Chingford By Victoria Munro
Leyton High Road
Residents in Leyton are the most likely in the borough to die a preventable death before age 75, a new interim report reveals.
The UCL Institute of Health Equity, led by Professor Sir Michael Marmot, is researching local health inequality for Waltham Forest Council and will present its final report later this month.
The council hopes to use the report to gain “a deeper understanding of the specific impacts the pandemic had on residents” and guide its future plans.
On 10th October, councillors on the health scrutiny committee received an “interim” version of the report, containing some shocking statistics about health inequality in the borough.
These include the fact that a resident in Leyton or Lea Bridge is 50% more likely to die a preventable death before the age of 75, compared to those living in Chingford or Chapel End.
Given the “stark link between deprivation and early death”, the draft report considered at length the local rates of poverty and unemployment.
It notes that, as of 2020, almost a quarter of local children were living in relative poverty and there were around twice as many working-age residents as there were local jobs.
Last year, almost half the women employed in Waltham Forest earned less than the London Living Wage.
Overall, residents living in Leyton and Leytonstone are more likely to be deprived than those in Chingford.
For example, in 2019, half of the borough’s electoral wards had more than a quarter of their elderly residents living in poverty – with those worst affected all lying in the south of the borough.
Interestingly, given the borough’s celebrated green spaces like Walthamstow Marshes, Waltham Forest has the lowest percentage of its population among comparable London boroughs living close to a green space.
However, councillors were told that the statistics presented “represent a small proportion of the overall findings of the report”.
The health scrutiny committee is expected to discuss the final report – and any recommendations for future initiatives that result from it – in January next year.
No news is bad news
Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.
The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.
If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.
Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.
Monthly direct debit
Annual direct debit
£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else.
Our newspaper and website are made possible by the support of readers and by displaying online advertisements to our visitors. Please consider helping us to continue to bring you news by disabling your ad blocker or supporting us with a small regular payment.
No news is bad news 
