This cause of death includes those who are deemed to have died from ‘senility without mention of psychosis’, that is, old age without suffering from dementia.

Death is not attributed to ‘old age’ in most of Scotland and the north and mid Wales. In contrast, in Hereford and Worcestershire, east Yorkshire, and north Devon it is much more commonly recorded. (Remember that our statistics take into account the age of the population in all the area and so the map does not reflect where more old people live, rather it reflects what they are considered to have died from.)

If ever you wished to see an example of how the last label that is given to us – the label of our cause of death – may be a little arbitrary in nature, it is through the geography of those deaths attributed to old age that geographical variation in cultural norms of certification of death becomes clear.

In these people who have been certified as dying of old age, post-mortem would show the most common cause of death to be pneumonia, but other infections, a silent (painless) heart attack or other condition might be found which had not been apparent. Many doctors will put down the most likely cause: pneumonia. Some will put down old age. Few would insist on a post-mortem at this age.

With the highest average age of death, at 91.2 years, to die of old age without senility is to die well.