The spatial distribution of deprivation

A study in 2010 by the Glasgow Centre for Population Health showed that levels of socioeconomic deprivation in Glasgow were almost identical to levels in Liverpool and Manchester. Despite this, however, and despite all that is known about the profound links between deprivation and population health, premature mortality in Glasgow was shown to be 30% higher than in the English cities, with mortality at all ages 15% higher.

One of the many theories put forward to explain this ‘excess’ mortality in Scotland’s largest city was that there may be important differences in the spatial patterning of deprivation between the cities. In other words, the way in which deprived and affluent areas are distributed may be different in Glasgow than in Liverpool and Manchester, and may, through particular causal pathways, adversely affect the health of Glasgow’s population. This study sought to explore whether or not this may be the case.