Standardised morbidity rates: alcohol-related (XALC) (2013)
Geographical disparities in health present important research and policy challenges. Disparities can be indicative of different forms of spatially patterned advantage or disadvantage. Local age and sex-standardised hospital admissions rates can provide insights into health disparities and may act as input into health geographic research or local policy instruments.
Certain disease groups are internationally recognised as being indicators of poverty and deprivation. Their wide variation in incidence rates across a large city such as London can therefore provide important supplementary information on areas of deprivation that might otherwise be missed, as well as possible interventions.
The maps here show the spatial distribution of various disease groups and alcohol-related conditions, across London. A spatially-smoothed, age- and sex-standardised morbidity rate (SMBR1) was modelled at local area (MSOA) level, based on NHS Digital Hospital Episode Statistics data for 2013.
The data is extracted from a CDRC data record which includes non-spatially smoothed measures, and modelled raw observation counts, for the disease groups included on these maps and other main groups.
The above map, of alcohol-related condition morbidity, and the below two maps, showing morbidity of cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes, show the same characteristic spatial pattern in London, with a east-west axis and high values in central southern London, these correlate with the well-known areas of relatively higher levels of deprivation and poverty in the capital.
Top three areas for modelled alcohol-related condition morbidity:
- Thornton Heath Central
- Shepherd's Bush West
- Wood Street (Waltham Forest)
Top three areas for modelled cardiovascular diseases morbidity:
- Southall Green
- Southall Park
- Southall North
Top three areas for modelled diabetes mellitus morbidity:
- Brixton North
- Notting Dale
- Stockwell West
Top three areas for modelled injury morbidity:
- Archway West
- Greenford South
- Archway East
Standardised morbidity rates: cardiovascular diseases (2G) (2013)
Standardised morbidity rates: Diabetes mellitus (2C) (2013)
As a corollary, looking at mobility rates of injuries, a hospitalisation which is less likely to be due to longer term lifestyle conditions and the challenges of deprivation, a less pronounced pattern appears - here the variations are spread more evenly through London, with some high values in some of the less deprived suburbs too.
Local mobility rates were calculated by Dr Jens Kandt and Dr Jakob Petersen at the Consumer Data Research Centre. All local area names from the House of Commons MSOA Names project.