Standing view · health · Dartford
deteriorating, held with established confidence, formed on 31 August 2026 from movements in 2025.
Deaths before the age of 75 in Dartford fell to 274.45 per 100,000 residents in 2023, then rose to 325.22 in 2024. The rise is the more recent movement and more than reverses the previous year's fall. No other health measure is published for the borough here, so nothing independent points either way, and two annual readings moving in opposite directions cannot establish a direction. Mortality at district level rests on small counts, which is a further reason for caution.
A view is formed only where the evidence names a figure you can check. Each movement listed as a reason had to be large enough to matter and distinctive in at least one way — unusual against this area's own history, unusual against comparable areas, or sustained over several periods. A movement shared with peers counts for less, because it says something about the country rather than about Dartford. Where no figure supports a direction we hold no view rather than a hedged one.
| Measure | Period | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| Deaths before age 75, per 100,000 | 2023 | improving |
| Deaths before age 75, per 100,000 | 2024 | deteriorating |