Women urged to seek healthy lifestyles
Wednesday July 28th, 2010
Many female deaths could be prevented by lifestyle changes, a new study suggests.
A study of more than 10,000 British women has shown how smoking, obesity and excessive drinking combine to shorten lives.
Dr Lisa Iversen and colleagues at Aberdeen university, UK, used figures from 10,059 women taking part in the Royal College of General Practitioners' Oral Contraception Study.
Participants were questioned on smoking, exercise, alcohol, and weight. During the following 11 to 12 years, 896 of the women died. For those still alive, the mean age was 56 years.
Just over half had a history of serious illness. One in five had smoked for more than 20 years, but less than four per cent drank more than 14 units of alcohol per week. More than half were overweight or obese.
The researchers conclude that, assuming causality between lifestyle risk factors and mortality, 60 per cent of the deaths could have been prevented by not smoking, exercising more, having a healthy body mass index, and drinking less than seven units of alcohol per week.
In the British Journal of General Practice, the authors write: "Few studies have investigated the impact of combinations of risk factors, particularly among women."
The study also found that women with multiple lifestyle risk factors had higher risk of death than those reporting one factor.
"Smoking and physical inactivity had the highest population attributable risks when examined alone or in combination with other risk factors, emphasising the importance of avoiding smoking and undertaking physical activity during midlife," the authors conclude.
They add that the results are consistent with findings from the US Nurses' Health Study, which found that smoking and physical inactivity were the top lifestyle risk factors.
Iversen, L. et al. Impact of lifestyle in middle-aged women on mortality: evidence from the Royal College of General Practitioners’ Oral Contraception Study. British Journal of General Practice, August 2010, pp. 563-69.
Tags: Diet & Food | Drug and Alcohol Abuse | Fitness | UK News | Women’s Health & Gynaecology
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