Irish men take more risks, die younger - study

Irish men have the lowest life expectancy of all males in European because they take risks with their health, a study indicated today.

The study was carried out by a voluntary all-Ireland network of individuals and organisations, the Men's Health Forum in Ireland (MHFI), which re-examined published health research in the context of men's health in the north and south Ireland.

Their findings, published by Men's Health in Ireland today, indicate that Irish males die six years earlier than Irish women.

In fact, according to Mr Noel Richardson, forum chairman, men die in greater numbers at all ages from all diseases when compared with women.

Men living in Ireland die at an average age of 73, two years before males in Britain.

Behind this higher morbidity rate is a reluctance by men to visit their doctor with eight out of ten admitting they waited too long before consulting their GP, said Mr Richardson, who co-authored the report.

Mr Richardson also noted that research showed that men from the lower occupational classes have worse health in all years and for all conditions when compared to men in the highest occupational class.

He stressed the "clear gender differences" in behavioural terms which undermine male health. The report identifies that men take part in risky behaviors "that are culturally defined as masculine to 'prove' their masculinity".

This recklessness is borne out by data for road traffic accidents which indicates that men are five times more likely to be killed in a crash than females, Mr Richardson suggested. In 2001 93 per cent of the 6,790 people convicted of drink driving by gardai were male.

Establishing an all-Island advisory group for men's health is the main recommendation in the MHFI study. This body would "provide terms of reference in relation to men's health and monitor and assess progress made both south and north of the country".

It also suggests more wide-spread research and data collection and the development of a policy for men's health development for all men on the Island similar to that adopted by the Department of Health in 1995.

The study was funded by Yamanouchi Europe, a pharmaceutical company which produces a treatment for prostate disorders.