Advertisement
In association with Specsavers

Pandemic effect on deprived children’s health could last into adulthood

A study of children’s health over the past 20 years exposed “concerning” dips in the wellbeing of young people in low-income families.

Progress has stalled in efforts to improve young children’s health, an in-depth analysis of the past two decades has revealed.

Nuffield Foundation researchers found that while children under five are healthier today overall than 20 years ago, the health gap between disadvantaged youth and their well-off peers is growing – and was turbocharged by the pandemic.

By 2017, the infant mortality rate in the most deprived parts of England was nearly double the rate seen in the wealthiest areas – at 6.0 per 1,000 live births compared to 3.1 – and the disparity is increasing. 

The gap is even wider between ethnic groups, with 7.3 deaths per 1,000 live births of babies from Pakistani backgrounds compared to 3.2 for those from white British backgrounds. Researchers found a “small but unprecedented” increase in infant mortality over the past five years.

“There is such a clear link to levels of poverty and deprivation,” said Carey Oppenheim, early childhood lead at the Nuffield Foundation. Tackling child poverty must be made a policy priority if “substantial progress” is to be made, she added.

“It is very worrying that after two decades of improvement in young children’s health, progress on some key indicators has stalled or gone into reverse.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

The study showed an increase in children admitted to hospital with respiratory illnesses, the same year campaigners pushed for legislation to protect young people from air pollution.

Researchers found a worsening picture on low birthweight and obesity as well as infant mortality, with disadvantaged children most affected.

“Poverty is a significant driver of poorer health outcomes,” the report stated, “and has been rising particularly steeply for families with a child under five.”

Babies born into families on low incomes were more likely to have a low birthweight, according to the study, which is closely tied to prematurity and infant death as well as impacting a child’s development.

The gap between deprived and wealthy families narrowed between 2005 and 2011, the report said, but began increasing among low-income households after 2012 and eventually returned to 2005 levels.

Young children’s mental health has deteriorated, the research suggests. Around six per cent of two-to-four-year-olds are thought to have a mental health disorder – but this is higher among children whose parents rely on benefits to make ends meet.

The study was published as a health and social care committee report warned the demand for mental health services among children is pushing the NHS to “breaking point”.

“Our children’s futures can’t be put at risk because the government continues to ignore the rising demand for mental health services,” said Dr Rosena Allin-Khan, Labour’s shadow cabinet minister for mental health.

“Throughout the pandemic, we have been warning of the mental health impact of Covid on our children and young people.

“Urgent action is needed now.”

The Covid-19 crisis had a dramatic knock-on effect on the physical health of children in poverty too, the Nuffield Foundation study showed. By 2021, a fifth (20 per cent) of youngsters aged four and five living in the most deprived areas were obese, compared to eight per cent of kids in well-off regions.

Existing health inequalities were exacerbated by the pandemic’s impact on both parental and child mental health, researchers said, as well as the dramatic reduction in health services for children.

Urgent action to address the issue is “vital to the future health of our society,” they concluded, recommending a review of how healthcare serves young children and integrated services which support families in terms of both health and social wellbeing.

Article continues below

The researchers also called for an investigation into how poor health and poverty, ethnicity and location intersect and drive down quality of life for youngsters.

The “concerning trends” revealed by the research “reflect a failure to put the needs of babies and young children first,” said Dr Dougal Hargreaves, co-author of the report and reader in paediatrics and population health at Imperial College London.

Advertisement

Support the Big Issue

For over 30 years, the Big Issue has been committed to ending poverty in the UK. In 2024, our work is needed more than ever. Find out how you can support the Big Issue today.
Vendor martin Hawes

Recommended for you

Read All
'Gin, pliers and brute force:' Dentists accuse Rishi Sunak of forcing Brits to pull their own teeth
Dental crisis

'Gin, pliers and brute force:' Dentists accuse Rishi Sunak of forcing Brits to pull their own teeth

Cost of living or Generation Snowflake? Boomers and Gen Z disagree on causes of youth mental health crisis
Mental health

Cost of living or Generation Snowflake? Boomers and Gen Z disagree on causes of youth mental health crisis

The Big Issue and Specsavers: A Visionary Partnership for Change
Sponsored post

The Big Issue and Specsavers: A Visionary Partnership for Change

Cost of living crisis sees more and more children seeking mental health help: 'I feel like a burden'
children
Mental health

Cost of living crisis sees more and more children seeking mental health help: 'I feel like a burden'

Most Popular

Read All
Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits
Renters: A mortgage lender's window advertising buy-to-let products
1.

Renters pay their landlords' buy-to-let mortgages, so they should get a share of the profits

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal
Pound coins on a piece of paper with disability living allowancve
2.

Exclusive: Disabled people are 'set up to fail' by the DWP in target-driven disability benefits system, whistleblowers reveal

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments
next dwp cost of living payment 2023
3.

Here's when UK households to start receiving last cost of living payments

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue
4.

Citroën Ami: the tiny electric vehicle driving change with The Big Issue