CSO figures reveal Limerick worst place for life expectancy
Single men living in a council house in Limerick have the lowest life expectancy, latest official figures suggest.
Opting to live in the country with your own house and being well educated appears to be the key to a longer life, according to the 2006/2007 data from the Central Statistics Office.
It revealed the death rate for people living in cities or towns was higher than in rural areas, with Limerick faring the worst in the urban table.
Labour TD Jan O'Sullivan said she was shocked by the finding, but claimed there was less of a social mix in Limerick than other places.
"Limerick generally has bad figures in terms of a number of indicators in the CSO," she said.
"We're high in poverty, we're high in lone parenthood."
Key findings of the Mortality differentials in Ireland report reveal:
- Life expectancy for men living in the most deprived areas of the state was 73.7 years in 2006/2007, compared with 78 for those in the most affluent areas.
- The corresponding figure for women was 80 and 82.7 respectively.
- A 35-year-old man educated to primary level will live for another 41.3 years, but that rose to 44.5 years for those with a secondary school education and 46.9 for those who made it to third level. The corresponding figure for a 35-year-old woman was 45.6, 48.5 and 50.4.
- Married people had a mortality rate of 797 per 100,000, compared with 1,082 for single people.
- The death rate for urban dwellers was 715 per 100,000, compared with 655 in rural areas. Limerick had the highest rate at 785, with Dublin the lowest at 686.
- Home-owners had a mortality rate of 489, compared with those in private rented accommodation at 539 and local authority housing at 757.
Ms O'Sullivan added: "Clearly this is something that needs to be addressed, not just by the health services but across the board.
"I think we need a much more holistic approach to the categories of people in our society who are more prone to illness and early death."
