A study has found that premature deaths from suicide and road traffic accidents, especially amongst males, have a higher impact than deaths from cancer. This new research into death rates in Ireland shows accidental or violent deaths, including suicide, accounted for almost one in four of all years lost for men in 1996.
This new report came from the Society of Actuaries in Ireland, who looked at the impact of different causes of death from the 1960s to the mid-90s. The researchers used a new method of analysing causes of death. They calculated the number of years lost from normal life expectancy as a result of premature death, instead of simply calculating the number of deaths.
The report found that while there have been substantial improvements in Irish mortality, this has not extended to Irish men aged between 15 and 24. The reasons for this are the high levels of young male suicide and deaths from road traffic accidents. It highlighted the fact that Ireland has one of the worst suicide rates among developed countries for young males, and that this rate has increased sharply over the last ten years.
Amongst women, Irish mortality rates from breast cancer compare poorly to other developed countries, and breast cancer results in more years lost than all other cancer types.
