BEHAVIOUR AND MORTALITY
It has been suggested that 50 per cent of mortality from the ten leading causes of death is due to behaviour. If this is correct, then behaviour and lifestyle have a potentially major effect on longevity. For example, Doll and Peto (1981) estimated that tobacco consumption accounts for 30 per cent of all cancer deaths, alcohol 3 per cent, diet 35 per cent, and reproductive and sexual behaviour 7 per cent. Approximately 75 per cent of all deaths due to cancer are related to behaviour. More specifically, lung cancer (the most common form) accounts for 36 per cent of all cancer deaths in men and 15 per cent in women in the UK. It has been calculated that 90 per cent of all lung cancer mortality is attributable to cigarette smoking, which is also linked to other illnesses such as cancers of the bladder, pancreas, mouth, larynx and oesophagus, and to coronary heart disease. And bowel cancer, which accounts for 11 per cent of all cancer deaths in men and 14 per cent in women, appears to be linked to diets high in total fat, high in meat and low in fibre. As health behaviours seem to be important in predicting mortality and longevity, health psychologists have attempted to increase our understanding of health-related behaviours. In particular, based on the premise that people behave in line with theway they think, health psychologists have turned to the study of health beliefs as potential predictors of behaviour.
It has been suggested that 50 per cent of mortality from the ten leading causes of death is due to behaviour. If this is correct, then behaviour and lifestyle have a potentially major effect on longevity. For example, Doll and Peto (1981) estimated that tobacco consumption accounts for 30 per cent of all cancer deaths, alcohol 3 per cent, diet 35 per cent, and reproductive and sexual behaviour 7 per cent. Approximately 75 per cent of all deaths due to cancer are related to behaviour. More specifically, lung cancer (the most common form) accounts for 36 per cent of all cancer deaths in men and 15 per cent in women in the UK. It has been calculated that 90 per cent of all lung cancer mortality is attributable to cigarette smoking, which is also linked to other illnesses such as cancers of the bladder, pancreas, mouth, larynx and oesophagus, and to coronary heart disease. And bowel cancer, which accounts for 11 per cent of all cancer deaths in men and 14 per cent in women, appears to be linked to diets high in total fat, high in meat and low in fibre. As health behaviours seem to be important in predicting mortality and longevity, health psychologists have attempted to increase our understanding of health-related behaviours. In particular, based on the premise that people behave in line with theway they think, health psychologists have turned to the study of health beliefs as potential predictors of behaviour.
No comments:
Post a Comment