Descendants of Irish immigrants in Britain face a substantially higher death rate than the general population. Matt Egan looks at the latest research
Irish people who have settled in the UK are dying earlier than their British counterparts and tend to live less healthy lifestyles, according to new research.
Descendants of the Irish in Britain have a death rate 20 per cent higher than the UK average, according to the research. The study also found that Irish men aged between 35 and 44, in all socio-economic groups, are 50 per cent more likely to smoke than the general UK population.
The findings come from a study by scientists based in Glasgow's Medical Research Council (MRC) Public Health Unit. The study analysed national survey data on ethnicity and health amongst UK-born citizens living in England and was based on data collected on 435 Irish people born in the UK.
The research builds on previous studies published by Dr Seeromanie Harding, Joanne Abbotts and colleagues, which found that "second- and third-generation Irish" have a death rate 20 per cent higher than the UK average.
The implication is that people born in the UK tend to die younger if they have "parents born in Ireland" or "grandparents born in Ireland but parents born in the UK", according to the authors.
"They are likely to experience premature mortality," states Harding.
Further evidence in a previous report from Scotland suggested that poor health associated with "Irishness" may affect UK-born citizens whose closest Irish-born ancestors were their great-great- grandparents.
This finding was reported following an MRC-led study of heart disease among Scottish men with Irish surnames considered "likely to be fourth- or fifth- generation" by the scientists.
The new MRC study indicates that lifestyle factors as well as social and economic inequalities may help explain poor health within the UK's Irish communities.
"We found that Irish men were more likely to smoke and be in partly skilled or unskilled occupations compared with the general population," Harding says. The report highlights "persisting social and economic disadvantage" among Irish descendants in the UK.
Harding suggests that many of the UK's major health surveys pay relatively little attention to people's national or ethnic lineage. This has made it difficult for the scientists to identify large numbers of people with Irish family backgrounds and trace persistent health problems from one generation to the next.
Harding points out that the sample figures from the 435 people used in the study were "sparse". She said better data on UK-born ethnic minority groups is needed to be able to track health over generations and identify potential barriers to good health.
"Until this occurs we will remain in a position of analysing data that is not designed to address these issues," she says.
The relatively high incidence of smoking within the UK's Irish communities is of particular concern, according to Harding.
"Smoking is a risk factor for both cardiovascular disease and cancers. Cancers, particularly lung cancer, are a major burden in this community and a reduction in the high smoking levels would be of enormous benefit," she says.
The scientists also recommend that further research be undertaken to examine how improved education and specific intervention programmes could be used to reduce smoking among the UK-born Irish.
The scientists report that while Irish descendants in the UK are more likely to be socially disadvantaged, the smoking problem occurs among all social classes within the UK's Irish communities. In public health terms, the link between smoking and "Irishness" was "independent of differences in socio-economic position".
The news is not all bad for the UK's Irish communities. Blood pressure is not identified as a problem. The Irish "did not appear to be disadvantaged by their metabolic or blood pressure profiles", Harding states. The scientists also found evidence of persisting health problems among different generations of UK-born citizens with Caribbean ancestry.
Dr Matt Egan is based at Glasgow's Medical Research Council Social and Public Health Sciences Unit. He was on placement at The Irish Times as a British Association for the Advancement of Science media fellow