Health and life style-related determinants of survival rate in the male residents of the city of Łódź

• Authors: Janusz Śmigielski , Wojciech Bielecki , Wojciech Drygas

Abstracts

EN

Introduction: The article presents a selected part of an analysis of health- and lifestyle-related determinants of the longevity of male residents of the city of Łódź. The WHO strategy for the European region assumes that the term ‘lifestyle' refers to the way of life based on the association between conditions of life understood in a broad sense and individual patterns of behaviour determined by socio-cultural factors and individual features. On this basis, the aim of this study is to identify the multiple statistical relationships on the mortality of men living in Łódź, particularly the influence of the following variables on the probability of survival: age, subjective health assessment, nutritional habits, alcohol consumption and tobacco smoking. Materials and Methods: The study sample (1004 respondents) was selected, and the study was carried out, based on the standards of the CINDI WHO Programme. The investigations included socio-demographic data, health status, lifestyle and anthropometric measurements. Results: From the results of the first- study performed in Poland of the longevity of men with identified risk factors of cardiovascular diseases, it has been found that: 1) Tobacco smoking has a negative influence on male longevity; 2) Alcohol consumed in moderate amounts favours male longevity; 3) The level of physical activity observed among the studied men was too low to affect longevity; 4) A diet rich in fish and consumption of yellow cheese are positive predictors of longevity, while additional use of table salt at meals and consumption of sweets (cakes) are negative ones. Conclusions: Risky lifestyles and a reluctance to abandon them are responsible for a shorter lifespan among men in Poland. Reducing this difference between women and men is a real challenge for public health professionals and preventive medicine specialists.

Keywords

EN

longevity; physical activity; nutritional habits; alcohol consumption; tobacco smoking; pro-health behaviours

• Publisher: Instytut Medycyny Pracy im. prof. dra Jerzego Nofera w Łodzi
• Journal: International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health
• Year: 2013
• Volume: 26
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 337-348

Dates

published

2013

Contributors

author

Janusz Śmigielski

• Department of Computer Science and Medical Statistics, Medical University of Lodz, Łódź, Poland

author

Wojciech Bielecki

• Department of Social Pathologies, Medical University of Lodz, Łódź, Poland

author

Wojciech Drygas

• Department of Preventive Medicine, Medical University of Lodz, Łódź, Poland

Identifiers

DOI

10.2478/s13382-013-0104-4

Biblioteka Nauki

2179142