| Survival of the Fittest Comment
The news that Irish people who have come to work in Britain are more
likely to die early from a range of causes relating to poor health is not
exactly new.
However, the fact that we have a lower life expectancy than for those
members of other ethnic minority groups such as Bangladeshis and the Pakistani
community is something that was previously unreported.
New research by the London Public Health Observatory for Britain’s chief
medical officer Sir Liam Donaldson makes disturbing reading. It shows higher
death rates among Irish people in Britain from all causes and in particular
from cancer.
People who had to leave Ireland and come to Britain in poverty and in
search of a living around the time of the 1950s were often the lowest of
the low in the social scale.
They often were relegated to the poorest of housing conditions in inner
city slums. They worked hard, in harsh conditions, especially the men who
worked outdoors in all weathers in the construction industry without the
measures in place to ensure their safety, as exists these days.
The lifestyle of these emigrants did not help either. Heavy smoking and
often heavy drinking combined with poor diet did not make for a healthy
lifestyle.
Is it any wonder then that, for example, Irish men living in Britain
here still have a 127 per cent greater risk of dying from cancer of the
mouth than the general population and a 132 per cent greater risk of dying
from cancer of the larynx?
In addition to this, Irish people have the highest rate of admission
to psychiatric hospitals in Britain and a rate of suicide that is 53 per
cent above average.
The figures come from Health Impact Assessment of the Irish voluntary
sector in a report that was published last year.
And the problems of Irish health have continued through into the second
and third-generations.
There is a need for government and other agencies to do more to help
improve the health of Irish people, particularly the elderly and disadvantaged.
More should be done, for example, to encourage us to give up smoking, with
campaigns that are targeted at us as an ethnic minority community with a
habit.
After all, Irish people, especially Irish women, have contributed much
to this country in income tax and health care work for others.
But Irish people can also do more to help themselves. If we have a problem,
we should ensure we see a doctor or other professional person about it without
delay. Late diagnoses of medical problems are linked with high rates of
death in certain illnesses among Irish people.
Advice on healthy living should be part of the agenda in Irish clubs
and societies and we may need to organise Irish visits for a workout at
the gym.
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