Health
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Many factors combine together to affect the health of individuals and communities. Whether people are healthy or not, is determined by their age, circumstances and environment. To a large extent, factors such as where we live, the state of our environment, genetics, our income and education level, and our relationships with friends and family all have considerable impacts on health, whereas the more commonly considered factors such as access and use of health care services often have less of an impact.
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How long people live for
Currently, Herefordshire men expect to live on average for 79.9 years and women for 83.8 years. On average, women in Herefordshire live significantly longer than women in England, but Herefordshire men live for a similar length to the English average for men. The same pattern is seen when looking specifically at healthy life expectancy.
Mental health
Mental health is an issue of national and local concern and parental mental illness is one of most common reasons for children to need social services involvement.
Around 4,900 young people in Herefordshire are living with a parent with severe mental health issues
What conditions people live with
As more people live longer, more of us are living with chronic long-term health conditions. In Herefordshire, rates of coronary heart disease, hypertension, stroke, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma and rheumatoid arthritis, are all higher than nationally.
What people die of
The mortality rate in Herefordshire is lower than nationally. Cancer and diseases of the circulatory system have been the main causes of death in the county for a number of years. The number of deaths from dementia, Alzheimer's and frailty have also been rising. Premature mortality rates in Herefordshire are lower than nationally. However, the rate is higher for men than women.