The Glasgow effect refers to the unexplained poor health and low life expectancy of residents of Glasgow, Scotland, compared to the rest of the United Kingdom and Europe. Though lower income levels are generally associated with poor health and shorter lifespan, the prevailing hypothesis among epidemiologists is that poverty alone does not appear to account for the health disparity found in Glasgow. Equally deprived areas of the UK such as Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester have higher life expectancies, and the wealthiest ten percent of the Glasgow population have a lower life expectancy than the same group in other cities.