Scots living in the poorest areas can now expect to stop enjoying good health when they are 46 in an "truly terrifying" reversal of population improvements.
Researchers have laid the blame squarely on UK Government austerity measures saying it was further evidence that "unprecedented" cuts in social security payments have been a key driver in declining health.
A major, pre-pandemic study spanning 24 years shows average healthy life expectancy (HLE) among men and women has declined from 51 since 2009, when the UK government slashed budgets for housing and welfare payments and introduced the merged benefit, Universal Credit.
Dr David Walsh, of Glasgow Centre for Population Health (GCPH), which led the study, said: "The emphatic point to make is that we shouldn't be seeing this in a country as wealthy as the UK, health life expectancy should be continuing to increase."
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The amount of years people reported being in good health increased markedly by nine years between 1995 and 2009 among men and women.
However, in both cases, HLE dropped by an average of two years from 2011 to 2019.
The decline was seen in both the most and least affluent groups but was largest among those living in Scotland's 20% more deprived areas, where the decrease was 3.5 years.
Worrying changes in life expectancy have been observed recently in the UK with data showing steady improvements have stalled.
Healthy life expectancy data combine mortality figures with survey-based measures of self-assessed health.
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People were asked to rate how good their health was, from 'very good' to 'very bad'.
Researchers said the findings are likely to be "understated" because those in better health would be more likely to respond to the survey.
Dr Walsh said: "We see sharp increases in healthy life expectancy and then post-austerity we see this troubling decline.
"When you see that people in deprived areas are living to 46 in good health that is a truly terrifying statistic.
"It's about understanding these changes and the need to address them and as we talk about future budgetary decisions at UK Government level- and paying for the pandemic - we don't repeat the mistakes of austerity because the effects would be catastrophic for large sections of the community."
He said the decline in HLE amongst the least deprived could be linked to "mixed populations" and cuts to social care budgets.
The study concluded: "Our findings are further evidence of changing levels of pre-pandemic population health in the UK.
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"An increasing body of UK and international evidence have attributed these changes to UK Government austerity policies.
"There is an urgent need, therefore, to reverse cuts to social security and protect the income and health of the poorest across all of the UK."
A UK Government spokesman said:“The new health and care levy will raise around £12 billion a year across the UK, with £1.1 billion going to support the Scottish government to further invest in health services by 2024 – this is on top of their £41 billion annual block grant.
"Tackling health disparities is a priority for the government, and we will work with the Scottish government and the powers they have, to focus on the people and places who face the worst health outcomes.”
The research is published in the JECH (Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health.
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