Deaths - Wakefield District JSNA

Headlines

There were 3,806 deaths (all ages, all causes) across Wakefield District in 2022, including 184 deaths involving COVID-19.
With the exception of colorectal cancer, the three-year premature mortality rates are higher than the England averages for most leading disease types.
There were 48 infant deaths in the period 2020-2022, and the infant mortality rate is similar to regional and England rates.
There’s a strong association between premature mortality rates and levels of multiple deprivation, with the rate among the population living in the top-10% most-deprived neighbourhoods being nearly three-times higher than the rate among the population living in the bottom-10% most-deprived neighbourhoods.
The main cause of death within Wakefield District is cancer.
At ward level, the highest level of premature mortality in the period 2018-2020 was in Airedale and Ferry Fryston ward (557.3 DSR per 100,000) and the lowest rate was in Horbury and South Ossett (303.5 DSR per 100,000).

Local Mortality Rates Compared with Elsewhere

The Mortality Profile published by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID) brings together a selection of mortality indicators from other OHID health profiles in order to make it easier to assess outcomes across a range of causes of death. The dashboard below provides a summary of these mortality indicators. It highlights the recent trend over time (where it can be calculated) and gives an indication of how the Wakefield District mortality rates compare against the England rates. Clicking on the URL ‘link’ icon will open up the relevant page on the OHID profiles website, where more details and analysis are available.

Inequalities in Premature Mortality

A dashboard has been developed using local deaths data from the Office for National Statistics. The dashboard shows premature mortality rates by deprivation decile, ward, disease type and sex for three-year periods going back to 2012-2014. A chart showing trends over time is included, as is a map showing disparities between wards. Three-year time periods are needed throughout to produce rates with reasonable confidence intervals.

There’s a strong association between premature mortality rates and levels of multiple deprivation, with the rate among the population living in the top-10% most-deprived neighbourhoods being nearly three-times higher than the rate among the population living in the bottom-10% most-deprived neighbourhoods, in 2018-2020 period, and this has changed very little over the past six years. In all but the ninth deprivation decile, premature mortality was higher for males than females. Among people in the ninth deprivation decile there was no difference between the sexes.

Of the disease groupings analysed, the single largest cause of premature death within Wakefield District is from cancer (145.3 DSR per 100,000), followed by heart disease (51.5 DSR per 100,000) and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (26.4 DSR per 100,000). Premature mortality from cancer is higher for males (158.7 DSR per 100,000) than females (132.3 DSR per 100,000), and the same is the case for heart disease (males: 69.5 DSR per 100,000; females: 22.2 DSR per 100,000).

At ward level, the highest level of premature mortality in the period 2018-2020 was in Airedale and Ferry Fryston ward (557.3 DSR per 100,000) and the lowest rate was in Horbury and South Ossett (303.5 DSR per 100,000).

Interactive Mortality Dashboard

Measuring Mortality

Measures of mortality are typically expressed as directly age-standardised rates, based on the calendar year(s) when the death(s) were registered. Age-standardized mortality rates adjust for differences in the age distribution of the population by applying the observed age-specific mortality rates for each population to a standard population (in our case a European standard population from 2013).

Mortality rates are typically calculated using either a single year or a three-year period. Rates based on three-year periods should provide more precise estimates and are especially useful when numbers of deaths are low and when sub-population rates are being calculated.

Mortality rates are typically calculated for all ages at the time of death; deaths at age less than 75 years, referred to as premature mortality; and deaths of infants under one year of age, referred to and infant mortality (often expressed as a rate per 1,000 live births).

Preventable mortality counts deaths that would be considered preventable if, given our understanding of the determinants of health, all or most deaths from the underlying cause (subject to age limits if appropriate) could mainly be avoided through effective public health and primary prevention interventions. Preventable mortality overlaps with, but is not the same as ‘treatable’ mortality, which includes causes of deaths which could potentially be avoided through effective healthcare interventions, including secondary prevention and treatment. Preventable mortality and treatable mortality are the two components of ‘avoidable’ mortality, as published by the Office for National Statistics.

Excess deaths usually refers to a comparison of deaths within a specific timeframe, e.g. winter months, compared with some reference period e.g. non-winter months, or a five-year average. There is a long history of measuring excess winter deaths but the concept has been adapted more recently to analyse deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

Suicide is a significant cause of death in young adults and is seen as an indicator of underlying rates of mental ill-health. Suicide rates usually also include deaths resulting from injuries of undetermined intent.

Mortality rates may also be calculated for deaths attributable to specific causes, such as smoking, drug misuse, or air pollution.

Resources

OHID Infant Mortality Profile: This section of the Child and Maternal Health profile provides data on deaths during pregnancy and childhood and includes Infant Mortality and Stillbirths Profiles.
OHID End of Life Profile: This profile has been developed by the National End of Life Care Intelligence Network (NEoLCIN) to improve the availability and accessibility of information and intelligence around palliative and end of life care. They provide an overview across multiple geographies in England, to support commissioning and planning of local services.
OHID Segment Tool: This tool provides information on the causes of death and age groups that are driving inequalities in life expectancy at local area level. Targeting the causes of death which contribute most to the life expectancy gap should have the biggest impact on reducing inequalities.
National Child Mortality Database (NCMD): The National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) national data collection and analysis system records comprehensive data, standardised across England, on the circumstances of children’s deaths. The purpose of collating information nationally is to ensure that deaths are learned from, that learning is widely shared and that actions are taken, locally and nationally, to reduce the number of children who die.
Excess Mortality in England: Monitoring excess mortality provides understanding of the impact of COVID-19 during the course of the pandemic and beyond. Excess mortality in this report is defined as the number of deaths from 21 March 2020 above the expected number had the pandemic not occurred, based on mortality rates in earlier years.
Excess mortality within England: post-pandemic method: Monthly analysis estimating excess mortality in England broken down by age, sex, region, upper tier local authority, level of deprivation and cause of death.
Inequalities in mortality involving common physical health conditions, England: Analysis by the Office for National Statistics showing rates of mortality involving cancers, cardiovascular diseases, chronic kidney disease, dementia, diabetes, and respiratory diseases, by Census 2021 variables.