Health inequality runs throughout life, from before birth through into old age. It exists between social classes, different areas of the country, between men and women, and between people from different ethnic backgrounds. But the story of health inequality is clear: the poorer you are, the more likely you are to be ill and to die younger. That is true for almost every health problem. (Our Healthier Nation, Chapter 4.2)

On this page we focus on health inequalities in the East of England. Although this region is one of the wealthiest in the country with few deprived local authorities, there is considerable variation in health within PCTs or local authorities. The PCT profiles presented here are based on Middle Super Output Area (MSOA) data and compare major health indicators within the PCTs and compare PCTs with each other.