July 16 (Reuters) - UnitedHealth Group reported a better-than-expected profit for the second quarter on Tuesday, driven by strong demand in its healthcare services unit.

The company's shares rose 1.8% in trading before the bell.

The results could help allay some investor concerns as the healthcare conglomerate had battled elevated medical costs last year.

For the quarter, the company's medical loss ratio - the percentage of premiums spent on medical care was 85.1%, compared with 83.2% reported a year earlier.

Analysts on average expected the industry bellwether to report a ratio of 84.40%.

UnitedHealth posted an adjusted quarterly profit per share of $6.80, compared with analysts' average estimate of $6.66, according to LSEG data.

(Reporting by Sriparna Roy and Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)