SHAMED BY OUR KILLER LIFESTYLES
Scots women drink and smoke more than EU neighbours
SCOTS women drink, smoke and eat more – and suffer more heart attacks – than their European counterparts, a major study has revealed.
Researchers found middle-aged Scots women also exercise less and have rates of heart disease that are more than four times higher than others in a comparable European city.
The study looked at the health and lifestyles of women in Scotland and Sweden – and found a modern Tale of Two Cities, with a huge health divide between them.
They claim the results show Scots have suffered as a result of generations of poorer lifestyles.
Researchers from Linköping University, Sweden, and the University of Edinburgh compared rates of heart disease and the incidence of risk factors associated with it among women aged 40 to 65.
According to their findings, rates among women in Scotland are more than four times higher than those in Sweden, while the lifestyle factors that influence them are substantially
worse. In addition, Scottish women are more likely to drink alcohol and smoke, have worse diets and are less active. They are also shorter, less educated and more prone to depression.
Crucially, the experts say women in the two countries share similar ancestry, meaning the differences are not genetic but caused by cultural, social, political and historical influences.
Sweden is one of the highest-ranking countries in the world on crucial factors such as quality of life and prosperity.
Dr Carina Wennerholm, of the department of medical sciences at Linköping University, said: ‘In this age group of women it’s unusual to get coronary heart disease and that is of interest because we can see big differences between these two groups of women.
‘In almost all measurements there were significant differences between the countries, favouring the Swedish. This is one of the first studies that clearly shows that Scottish middle-aged women are particularly affected by a worse profile of heart disease risks.
‘The profound differences in heart disease risk and frequency in the two populations are likely to have arisen from differences in the two groups of women’s social, cultural, political and economic environments.’
The study compared women in two unnamed Swedish cities with city-dwellers in Scotland.
It found 5.6 per cent of the Scottish women had heart disease – such as angina – or had suffered a heart attack, compared with only 1.2 per cent of the Swedish women.
Researchers also looked at the women’s general health and lifestyle, which can play a key role in heart disease risk.
A total of 48 per cent of the Scottish women said they had a ‘long-standing’ illness compared to 37 per cent of the Swedes. Almost one third of the Scots women in the study were obese, compared with 15 per cent of those from Sweden.
Smoking rates among Scottish women were 27 per cent compared to 20 per cent in Sweden, while more than half of the Scots said they drank alcohol ‘often’, compared to a third of those in Scandinavia.
When asked about physical activity levels, 17 per cent of the Scots were ‘sedentary’ compared to 8 per cent of Swedes; while 28 per cent of the Scottish women ‘seldom’ ate vegetables compared to 7 per cent. Rates of general wellbeing and happiness were also worse in Scotland.
And in terms of education, just over one third of the Scottish women had a ‘high’ level, compared to almost half in Sweden. Swedish women were also found to be almost two inches taller.
Authors, however, say that Scots and Swedes are ‘not very genetically different’.
The report states: ‘When Charles Dickens published his novel A Tale of Two Cities, he noted that living conditions for people could be completely different although they were living in two relatively comparable cities.
‘In this study we have compared Scottish and Swedish middle-aged women living in comparable but nonetheless different social environments.
‘The overall picture of cardiovascular risks for Scottish women is, by almost all measurements, substantially worse than for Swedish women of the same age and education.
‘There were remarkable lifestyle differences between the Swedish and the Scottish women.’
Dr Wennerholm said: ‘There is much scope for improving health of the Scottish women in this age group. For example, this could be done with better identification and management of classical risk factors for heart disease, via regulatory actions to target the price and supply of alcohol and unhealthy food, and via policies designed to address the structural causes of health inequalities.
‘Regarding transport infrastructure, [there could be] more opportunities for walking and cycling and less reliance on cars.’
Public Health Minister Aileen Campbell said: ‘We recognise that deeply ingrained health inequalities continue to persist in Scotland and we are absolutely committed to reducing these.
‘At its root this is an issue of income inequality – we need a shift in emphasis from dealing with the consequences to tackling the underlying causes, such as ending poverty, fair wages, supporting families and improving our physical and social environments.
‘This is coupled with decisive action to address alcohol consumption, cut smoking, encourage active living, healthy eating, and investment to improve mental health services.’
‘Much scope for improvement’ ‘There are remarkable differences in lifestyle between the Swedish and Scottish women in this age group