RECESSION measures have widened the health divide between Europe鈥檚 rich and poor, a major review has revealed.
The impacts of recession are clear in countries with the most severe economic problems. In Greece, for example, suicides rose by 17 per cent and murder rates more than doubled between 2007 and 2011.
Michael Marmot at University College London, who co-wrote the report for the World Health Organization, says that the most effective intervention is to invest in education and care in early life. 鈥淚f you fail to invest in early child development, you鈥檙e storing up problems for the future,鈥� he says.
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The biggest surprise was how low life expectancy was in Russia compared with other countries, says Marmot. 鈥淩ussian men die on average 17 years sooner than Icelandic men. This is an absolutely enormous disparity.鈥�
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淗ealth divide鈥�