A report on the health of the 391,000 people in the south-east has shown that the population is The trends in mortality and in hospital admissions are outlined in a report prepared for the South Eastern Health Board by its director of public health, Dr Orlaith O'Reilly.
The south-east has the State's highest rate of suicide. There were 42 deaths due to suicide in the 15-64 age group in the region in 1995. The suicide death rates were highest in Cos Carlow and Kilkenny.
Although the death rate from all cancers was slightly lower than the national average, lung cancer in women and prostate cancer were higher relative to the rest of the State.
Of all rural health boards, the south-east has the highest proportion of births to single mothers. This is a particular issue in the region's biggest urban area, Waterford City, where 26 per cent of babies are born to single mothers.
The south-east also has the highest hospitalisation rate for accidents involving children, and the rate of deaths due to road traffic accidents is also high, particularly in Co Wexford and among young men.
Dr O'Reilly records that about one in five hospital admissions in people between 14 and 35 years - and two-thirds of all deaths in this group - are due to injuries and poisonings.
Two out of five of these deaths are due to road accidents and two out of five due to suicide. "This is a silent epidemic," says Dr O'Reilly.
More than half of all deaths, and more than one in 10 hospital admissions in those over 14 years, are due to heart disease. This death rate is higher in some areas and the pattern is consistent with available data on lifestyle factors which influence the development of heart disease - the high incidence of smoking and heart disease in Co Carlow women.
Cancer causes one-third of the deaths in the 15-64 age group and one-fifth of deaths in people over 64.
Among the region's counties, Waterford had the highest hospital admission rate for most psychiatric disorders but Tipperary had the highest rate of admission for depressive disorders. Tipperary and Carlow had the highest rates of admissions for alcoholic disorders, and Wexford had the highest rate of admissions for mentally handicap.