SCOTLAND continues to have the lowest life expectancy figures of the four UK nations – with females in England now having a life expectancy of 83.18 years, more than two years longer than in Scotland.
New figures from the National Records of Scotland showed increases in life expectancy have stalled.
Life expectancy for women in Scotland has fallen for the second time in a row – and those in the most deprived parts of the country can expect to suffer poor health for more than a third of their life.
Male life expectancy in Scotland for babies born between 2016 and 2018 is 77.05 years – up from 77.02 years for boys born between 2015 and 2017, but lower than previous periods.
Life expectancy for males born in England in 2016 to 2018 is more than two years higher, at 79.56 years.
The gap in life expectancy between those in the richest and poorest parts of Scotland is now roughly around 13 years for men and 10 years for women, the figures also reveal.
But this increases when looking at the period of life that a person can expect to be in good health.
In the most deprived areas of Scotland, men and women can expect to spend less time in good health – resulting in a gap in healthy life expectancy of around 23 and 24 years respectively, compared to those in the wealthiest areas.
Doctors' leaders condemned Scotland's "stark and unacceptable health inequalities".
Dr Nikki Thompson, deputy chair of the Scottish Council at BMA Scotland, said: "These statistics leave us in absolutely no doubt that stark and unacceptable health inequalities persist across Scotland.
"It is 2019 and we should not tolerate a society where those in some areas of the country will spend an extra 23 years in poor health compared to those living in Scotland's most affluent areas.
"We need much more concerted action on public health, particularly focused on reducing inequalities, from all levels of government."
The National Records of Scotland data shows girls born over the period 2016 to 2018 can expect to live 81.08 years.
But for those born in the most deprived parts of the country, life expectancy falls to 75.6 years – with these women expected to spend 35.7% of their life in poor health.
In Scotland, life expectancy has either stopped increasing or has decreased in almost all of the country's 32 local authority areas, the report said.
While girls born in the most deprived parts of Scotland now have a life expectancy of 75.6 years, those born in the most affluent communities can expect to live for 85.4 years.
Those in the least deprived areas also have a much longer healthy life expectancy, being able to spend 84.8% of their life in good health.
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For males, the gap in life expectancy between the richest and poorest areas is even larger – with boys born in the least deprived areas having a life expectancy of 82.7 years, almost 13 years more than the 69.6 years for those in the most deprived communities.
While men in the least deprived areas can expect to spend 86.2% of their life in good health, for their counterparts in the poorest areas that falls to 69.3%.
East Renfrewshire has the highest life expectancy of any council area in Scotland, with boys born there in 2016 to 2018 expected to live for 80.7 years, rising to 83.6 for females.
In contrast, boys born in the neighbouring Glasgow City Council area over the same period have a life expectancy of 73.4 years, while for girls this is 78.7 years.
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Professor Derek Bell, president of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, called on ministers to prioritise action to tackle obesity and diabetes.
A Scottish Government spokesman said: "Over the long term, life expectancy in Scotland has increased but has stalled recently.
"We're focused on addressing the underlying causes that drive health inequalities, which has income inequality at its heart.
"Our bold package of measures to help tackle key issues such as smoking, obesity, inactivity, and alcohol misuse will support people to live longer healthier lives. To do this, we are continuing to invest in measures such as affordable housing, free prescriptions, free personal care and providing free school meals."
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