Men living in north Glasgow three times more likely to die young than those living in East Dunbartonshire

Men’s health charity Movember has released its The Real Face of Men’s Health report which highlights the challenges facing men and what it means for those around them. The report reveals a number of concerning stats for Glasgow.

In north east Glasgow, men are almost twice as likely to die before the age of 75 than women.

And, in rankings for the constituencies with the highest premature mortality rate for males across the UK, five Glasgow constituencies appeared in the top 10, with the nearby Motherwell and Wishaw constituency also appearing on the list.

Glasgow North East, 1012 per 100,000, was the worst affected constituency, with Glasgow East (967), South West (943), Central (927) and North West (864) also appearing in the concerning statistics.

Those reported figures are more than three times higher than neighbouring East Dunbartonshire - which reported the lowest rates of premature mortality in Scotland.

In 2019-21 in Scotland, men in the least deprived 10% of areas lived on average 14 years longer than those in the most deprived areas.

Michelle Terry, CEO of Movember, said: “The report findings should serve as a wakeup call to the unacceptable state of men’s health in Scotland and across the UK. For too long, men’s health has been relegated to the sidelines of broader health conversations. Men’s health doesn’t exist in a vacuum. If we want these tragic numbers to decrease, and better support the men in our lives, real change is needed urgently.

“We know the risk factors and issues associated with poor men’s health, so we need to proactively take action to address them. We need to invest in education, health system reform to meet the unique needs of all genders, and have a dedicated men's health strategy if we truly want to make progress.”

The report highlighted ischaemic heart disease, COVID-19, cancer of trachea, bronchus and lung, accidental poisoning (including drug/alcohol) and liver disease as the top causes of premature mortality in Scotland.

More than 2000 men in Scotland died from ischaemic heart disease in 2021, almost double COVID-19 - the next most common cause of death.

Almost two in five (39%) UK men die prematurely, before they are 75 years old and a boy born in the UK in 2021 can expect to live four years less than a girl.