Thousands of older people die each year from cold-related illnesses in the winter months. In only six years more than 150,000 over 65s died. 

What are excess winter deaths?

Excess Winter Deaths are defined by the Office of National Statistics. They are the difference between the number of deaths during the four winter months (December to March) and the average number of deaths during the preceding autumn (August to November) and the following summer (April to July).

Do people actually die of the cold?

Exposure to the cold does affect the number of winter deaths, but it is very unusual for the cold to kill people directly. In the main these deaths are from respiratory or cardio-vascular ailments. Overall deaths are from heart attacks, strokes, bronchial and other conditions, and may often occur several days after exposure to the cold.

What causes excess winter deaths?

Spending too long in the cold will lower the body temperature which can often aggravate circulatory diseases, which can lead to strokes and heart attacks or respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis or pneumonia.

Why are older people particularly affected?

• Older people with existing health problems are more at risk, so they need to take extra care when it is cold.
• Older people are less able to judge if they are warm or cold, meaning they may not put on an extra jumper or put on the heating before they get too cold.
• Many older people tend to live in older houses with inefficient heating systems and/or no insulation. This makes it harder to heat their homes.
• Older people often try to cut their energy bills by reducing the amount of heating they use or choosing to wrap up warm instead.
• Older people on low incomes spend up to 30 per cent less on food than is needed for a healthy balanced diet. This puts their physical and mental well-being at risk  and could make them more vulnerable to the cold.

Excess winter deaths - facts and stats

• In the last five years, more than 130,000 people over 65 have died from cold related illnesses during the winter months in Britain.
• In the winter of 2004/2005, 31,250 people over 65 died from cold-related illnesses in England and Wales.  That’s ten pensioners per hour.
• The UK has a higher number of winter deaths than in colder European countries. EU countries that experience more severe winters than the UK, such as Finland, Denmark and Austria, all have much lower levels of winter deaths.  

What can you do to keep warm?

It is essential that you keep warm during the winter. You can do this by:

• Dressing well
• Keeping active 
• Eating good meals 
• If at all possible, do not switch off the heating to save on fuel bills

Please follow all our top tips to keep warm this winter.

Want to find out more?

More ideas to keep warm and keep fuel bills down are in our Help with heating fact sheet.

The Department of Health’s Keep Warm Keep Well booklet is packed with advice on how to stay healthy this winter.

Both are available by calling Age Concern’s Information Line 0800 00 99 66.

 

 

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