PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

D Stanistreet

Publications and source records attributed to D Stanistreet.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Is patriarchy the source of men's higher mortality?

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relation between levels of patriarchy and male health by comparing female homicide rates with male mortality within countries. HYPOTHESIS: High levels of patriarchy in a society are associated with increased mortality among men. DESIGN: Cross sectional ecological study design. SETTING: 51 countries from four continents were represented in the data-America, Europe, Australasia, and Asia. No data were available for Africa. RESULTS: A multivariate stepwise linear regression model was used. Main outcome measure was age standardised male mortality rates for 51 countries for the year 1995. Age standardised female homicide rates and GDP per capita ranking were the explanatory variables in the model. Results were also adjusted for the effects of general rates of homicide. Age standardised female homicide rates and ranking of GDP were strongly correlated with age standardised male mortality rates (Pearson's r=0.699 and Spearman's 0.744 respectively) and both correlations achieved significance (p<0.005). Both factors were subsequently included in the stepwise regression model. Female homicide rates explained 48.8% of the variance in male mortality, and GDP a further 13.6% showing that the higher the rate of female homicide, and hence the greater the indicator of patriarchy, the higher is the rate of mortality among men. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that oppression and exploitation harm the oppressors as well as those they oppress, and that men's higher mortality is a preventable social condition, which could be tackled through global social policy measures.

Aggression↗
PubMed2003

Injury and poisoning mortality among young men--are there any common factors amenable to prevention?

BACKGROUND: Deaths from injury and poisoning (suicide, accidents, undetermined deaths, and homicide) are the major cause of death among young men aged 15-39 years in England and Wales and have been increasing in recent years. AIM: To describe common characteristics among young men who die from injury and poisoning. DESIGN: We employed a retrospective survey methodology to investigate factors associated with deaths by injury and poisoning among young men aged 15-39 years (n = 268) in Merseyside and Cheshire during 1995. Data were collected from Coroner's inquest notes and General Practitioner records. MAIN RESULTS: The most common cause of death was poisoning by alcohol and drugs (29.1%, n = 78). A high proportion of cases were unemployed (39.4%, n = 106). Cases were also more likely to be single compared to the general population (74.2% vs 55.5%). Self-destructive behaviour was evident in 77% of deaths (n = 206). CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol and drug use are important contributory factors to injury and poisoning deaths. More research is needed into the effects of unemployment and being single on the health of young men, and to investigate the motivations behind risk taking and self-destructive behaviour.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Accident or suicide? Predictors of Coroners' decisions in suicide and accident verdicts.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the factors used by Coroners to distinguish between suicide and accidental death among young men in Merseyside and Cheshire. DESIGN: Retrospective epidemiological survey of deaths due to external causes. Data sources included Coroner's Inquest, GP and hospital data. Logistic regression was carried out to determine the multiple effect of individual factors on defining Coroner's verdict. SETTING: Merseyside and Cheshire, United Kingdom. SUBJECTS: Males aged 15-39 years who died from unnatural causes during 1995 in Merseyside and Cheshire. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Coroner's verdict. RESULTS: An active mode of death was by far the strongest predictor of a suicide as opposed to an accident verdict. Other significant differentiating factors included expressed intent, behavioural change, deliberate self-harm and psychiatric contact. CONCLUSION: The validity of using method of death as a predictor of intent is questionable. Evidence left by drug users who kill themselves may differ from that left by non-drug users and may need to be sought in less conventional ways. There may be a discrepancy between those factors deemed important by health professionals as indicators of suicide, such as deliberate self-harm, and those given most weight by the Coroner. It may be more pragmatic, in terms of public health policy development, to challenge the concept that self-destructive behaviour can be categorized as being either intentional or unintentional. There is some evidence suggesting that deaths due to suicide and accidents both result from elements of self-destructive behaviour and therefore, the practice of categorizing deaths as either suicides or accidents could be misleading.

Accidents↗
PubMed1999

Income inequality and mortality in England.

BACKGROUND: Despite the increasing evidence that income inequality causes reductions in life expectancy in developed countries, this relationship has not been explored in the United Kingdom, where local income data are not routinely available. We have surmounted this problem by employing an ecological design which applies national income data to local mortality and occupational data. METHODS: This ecological, cross-sectional study used 1991 mortality and Census data on the 366 English local government districts, and 1991 New Earnings Survey data for England, to determine the independent effect of income inequalities within English local authorities on the variation in all cause mortality between them. The subjects were all men and women recorded as economically active in the 1991 Census. We carried out linear regression analyses between all cause, all ages standardized mortality ratios, income inequality indexes and mean income levels of the local government districts. Results Both income inequality and mean income were independently associated with mortality. CONCLUSIONS: It is likely that income inequality makes an independent contribution to life expectancy in English local authorities. This finding adds further to the international evidence supporting the potentially positive health impact of increasing the scale of redistributive fiscal policies.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗