Waltham Forest residents with learning disabilities are dying decades earlier than average, often from preventable and treatable conditions.

Data from the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review Programme shows learning disabled residents in the borough have an average life expectancy of 57 for men and 55 for women.

This means, on average, learning disabled men are dying 22 years earlier and learning disabled women are dying 29 years earlier than their non-disabled counterparts.

A report presented to the adult social care scrutiny committee on January 23 stated: “These deaths are not always due to complex co-morbidities but frequently to do with preventable and treatable conditions.”

Almost a third of deaths in people with a learning disability were due to respiratory conditions, while almost a fifth were caused by circulatory system diseases.

The NHS Long Term Plan aims to reduce these preventable deaths by improving the uptake of annual health checks for learning disabled residents.

There are approximately 5,000 adults in Waltham Forest with a learning disability. They are statistically more likely to live in Leyton and Leytonstone than Chingford.

Waltham Forest Council chose not to comment on life expectancy among learning disabled residents, stating the meeting was intended to examine their life chances.