Morbidity is the rate of incidence of disease; this rate can vary within different regions of the same country, for example the UK. These different rates are caused by the varying characteristics of particular regions within a single country, such as the general socio-economic class, the quality of the area’s environment and the general life style choices made there.
Lifestyle factors, such as the amount of people smoking regularly in different areas can cause ranging morbidity levels of diseases such as lung cancer. Areas within the UK with higher percentages of smokers have larger amounts of people suffering from lung cancer; this is because smoking damages lungs therefore increasing the chances of developing this particular disease. For example Greater Glasgow has a smoking prevalence of 30%, the highest of all Scottish NHS boards, and subsequently has just below 10,000 new cases of cancer being diagnosed there every year. Contrastingly, the Chiltern area, within England, was highlighted as having the lowest prevalence of smokers at only 10.2%, therefore explaining why it has the lowest figure for deaths from lung cancer within the UK.
Morbidity rates vary within regions of the UK due to the different types of environments in which people live in. Large urban areas are more likely to have higher rates of air pollution due to car exhaust fumes etc., leading to higher rates of diseases caused by unclean air. For example, air pollution from traffic in east London is considered to be some of the worst in Britain, killing over 4,000 people a year due to diseases linked with pollution effecting the lungs. Rural areas within the UK are more likely to have cleaner air, therefore reducing the amount of deaths due to a lower prevalence of lung related diseases.
Different regions of the UK have populations with different main socio-economic classes, gaining high or low incomes. This can affect the