Health · Preventable illness · England · 2001–2024

Which early deaths could be prevented — and where do they happen?

Heart disease and stroke deaths before 75 that are considered preventable ran at 61.6 per 100,000 in England’s most deprived tenth of neighbourhoods in 2022, against 16.2 in the least deprived — 3.8 times as high, after allowing for age. Nationally the rate more than halved from 2001 to 2019, then rose in the pandemic.

Evidence last reviewed 3 October 2026

The deprivation gradient

Does a preventable cause of early death follow deprivation?

Preventable heart and stroke deaths before 75 are nearly 4 times as common in the most deprived areas

Deaths under 75 from cardiovascular disease considered preventable, per 100,000 people aged under 75, directly age-standardised, by neighbourhood deprivation tenth (most deprived at top), England, 2022, persons.

England · 2022

Deaths per 100,000 under-75s, age-standardisedEngland average (30.8)

Most deprived tenth61.6
2nd49.5
3rd40.9
4th34.3
5th30.0
6th26.3
7th23.6
8th21.0
9th19.1
Least deprived tenth16.2

The rate rises at every step from the least to the most deprived tenth of neighbourhoods, from 16.2 to 61.6 per 100,000. Because the rates are age-standardised, the gap is not explained by poorer areas having older or younger populations. Risk factors such as smoking are more common in deprived areas, but this chart does not measure causes. The confidence intervals for the most and least deprived tenths are far apart.

England · 2022 · Official statistics (OHID, from ONS death registrations)

Sources, definitions and data

Geography:: England — Residents aged under 75, grouped by the deprivation decile of their small area (LSOA 2021)
Measure:: Deaths per 100,000, age-standardised to the 2013 European Standard Population
Period:: 2022
Status:: Official statistics (OHID, from ONS death registrations)
Calculation:: As published by OHID. Ratio = most deprived ÷ least deprived (UK Facts calculation).
Compare with:: England average: 30.8 per 100,000
Not included / breaks:: “Preventable” follows the 2019 ONS/OECD definition: deaths that could mainly be avoided by public health and primary prevention; cardiovascular causes count at 50%. OHID says the LSOA decile figures are still to be revised for new population estimates. Area deprivation describes neighbourhoods, not individuals.

Source: OHID, Public health profiles (Fingertips): under-75 mortality rate from cardiovascular disease considered preventable, Indicator 93722 (E04b), LSOA21 deprivation deciles (released checked 3 October 2026). Chart HEALTH-02.

View the data as a table

Deprivation tenth	Rate per 100,000	95% confidence interval
Most deprived tenth	61.6	59.2–64.1
2nd	49.5	47.4–51.7
3rd	40.9	39–42.9
4th	34.3	32.6–36
5th	30.0	28.5–31.5
6th	26.3	24.9–27.7
7th	23.6	22.3–24.9
8th	21.0	19.8–22.3
9th	19.1	18–20.3
Least deprived tenth	16.2	15.2–17.3

The national trend

Have preventable heart and stroke deaths been falling?

Preventable heart and stroke deaths before 75 fell by 57% from 2001 to 2019 and have not returned to that low

Deaths under 75 from cardiovascular disease considered preventable, per 100,000, directly age-standardised, England, persons, calendar years 2001–2024.

England · 2001–2024

1996–2026 displayed window · observations only. Shading marks years outside the displayed record.

The rate fell from 64.3 per 100,000 in 2001 to 27.4 in 2019; it was 27.4 in 2019 and 29.4 in 2024. The fall was fastest in the 2000s and slowed through the 2010s; the rate rose during the pandemic. This chart does not separate the contributions of prevention, treatment and acute care.

England · 2001–2024 · Official statistics

Sources, definitions and data

Geography:: England — Residents aged under 75
Measure:: Deaths per 100,000, age-standardised
Period:: 2001–2024
Status:: Official statistics
Calculation:: As published; rounded to one decimal place.
Compare with:: 2019, before the pandemic: 27.4
Not included / breaks:: Definition applied consistently across years by OHID. Pandemic years include excess deaths from cardiovascular causes.

Source: OHID, Public health profiles (Fingertips): under-75 mortality rate from cardiovascular disease considered preventable, Indicator 93722, England, single years (released checked 3 October 2026). Chart HEALTH-04.

View the data as a table

Year	Rate per 100,000
2001	64.3
2002	60.8
2003	57.2
2004	52.1
2005	48.4
2006	44.9
2007	42.0
2008	39.8
2009	36.4
2010	35.4
2011	33.1
2012	31.7
2013	31.1
2014	30.1
2015	29.8
2016	29.2
2017	28.5
2018	28.6
2019	27.4
2020	29.4
2021	30.2
2022	30.8
2023	30.5
2024	29.4

What “preventable” means, and what explains the gap

ONS and OHID class a death as preventable if, given what is known about the causes of disease, most deaths from that cause could be avoided through public health and primary prevention — stopping smoking, controlling blood pressure, diet and activity. That differs from treatable deaths, which timely and effective health care could avoid. Heart disease and stroke count as half preventable and half treatable, because both prevention and treatment matter. The definition was revised in 2019 to match the OECD’s.

This chapter uses cardiovascular disease because it is one of the largest causes of death before 75 and because OHID publishes it by neighbourhood deprivation with confidence intervals. Rates are directly age-standardised, so the gap is not a product of different age structures.

Competing explanations. Smoking, high blood pressure, obesity and diabetes are all more common in deprived areas; people there may also be diagnosed later or find it harder to get to a GP; and poor health itself can push people into poverty. The chart cannot separate these. Because the measure is area-based, it describes neighbourhoods, not individuals.

What would narrow the gap — and which options have been evaluated — is compared on the Health page. Primary care capacity, the front door to detection, is covered in can people get primary care?

Sources and methods (2)

OHID, Public health profiles (Fingertips): under-75 mortality rate from cardiovascular disease considered preventable, Indicator 93722 (E04b), LSOA21 deprivation deciles (released checked 3 October 2026) — rates by deprivation decile (2022) and the England trend
OECD/Eurostat, Avoidable mortality: OECD/Eurostat lists of preventable and treatable causes of death (January 2022) — definition of preventable mortality

Method notes

Directly age-standardised to the 2013 European Standard Population; deaths registered in the calendar year; people aged under 75.
Deprivation deciles group neighbourhoods (LSOAs, 2021 boundaries) by the Index of Multiple Deprivation; OHID will revise these figures for new population estimates.
The deprivation figures are for 2022, the latest year OHID publishes at neighbourhood level; the England trend runs to 2024.