Life expectancy to fall as living standards drop
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Sunday April 05 2009
OUR life expectancy may have come on in leaps and bounds over the past few years, but our upcoming plunge in living standards will cut our long lives short, experts have warned.
Pensions Ombudsman Paul Kenny said this weekend that a 10 per cent drop in living standards, as forecast by Taoiseach Brian Cowen last week, would "almost certainly" reduce life expectancy here.
"If there's a decline in living standards, people at the lowest end will be squeezed," said Mr Kenny. "You'll see an increase in food and fuel poverty and if people are not able to heat their homes properly, there'll be more respiratory problems. So more people will die prematurely."
Jim Murphy, a director with the actuarial consultants, Life Strategies, warned that a drop in living standards could have a "domino effect" on life expectancy. "The more economically prosperous a nation is, the longer life expectancy tends to be," said Mr Murphy.
Over the past 80 years, the life expectancy of Irish men has increased by over 19 years, while female expectancy increased by almost 24 years. Irish men currently expect to live until 77; women until 82.
A drop in living standards could, however, have a detrimental affect on our health and lead to more deaths, according to Richard Layte, a research professor with the Economic and Social Research Institute. "If someone loses their job, they'll restructure their lives," said Mr Layte.
"They could have a worse diet, smoke and drink more, or suffer higher levels of depression. In some parts of Eastern Europe after 1990, there was a collapse in life expectancy for men because of mass unemployment." Prof John Monaghan of the St Vincent de Paul society said there is "little doubt" a 10 per cent decrease in living standards "will have a huge impact on the health of people who are already in great difficulty".
- Louise McBride
