Stats of the Week

Most weeks from 2006-2009, malehealth featured a statistic of the week on the homepage. Here are some of them. For other stats, use the links on the left.

May 2009

• 33 and 16 - One in three men (33%) and one in six women (16%) — a quarter of all adults in England - are estimated to be 'hazardous drinkers'. Hazardous drinking is drinking that puts the drinker 'at risk of physical and psychological harm'. (Source: the NHS Information Centre.)

• 33,500,000 - the government has 23 million Tamiflu treatments and 10.5 million of Relenza, the main antiviral drugs used to treat swine flu. So there's no reason to panic. But if you do have symptoms of a heavy cold or flu, see your GP. The drugs need to be taken sooner rather than later to be effective. More on swine flu.

April 2009

• 40%  - on both Sept 11 in the USA and July 7 in the UK, suicide rates fell by about 40% suggesting traumatic national events can improve feelings of social cohesion. (Source: Royal College of Psychiatrists).
• 4,000,000 and 7 - it is estimated that by 2030, 4 million workers will have chronic health conditions - a rise of 7%. Mental illness will rise by 5% to affect 4.2 million workers. (Source: Bupa survey)

Mar 2009

• 1,000 - about 1,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer every single day in the UK. Bowel cancer is sometimes called colorectal or colon cancer. If caught in time, 90% of cases can be treated successfully.
• 3 - Young ex-servicemen are three times more likely to kill themselves than their civilian counterparts. At most risk are veterans aged under 24, in lower ranks and with shorter careers. More vets of the 1980s Falklands campaign have committed suicide since leaving the armed forces than the 255 who were killed in battle.

Feb 2009

• 634, 46 and 15 - Barack Obama's has announced a $634 billion plan to reform the US healthcare system funded by a mix of tax increases and Medicare spending cuts. About 46 million Americans - 15% of the population - have no health insurance.
• 5 - the number of fractured metatarsals in the Premier League so far this season (Michael Carrick, Jermaine Defoe, Joey Barton, Philip Degan, Alan Hutton). So far 19 England internationals have had this injury since 2002. What's the big deal?. 
• 28, 140 and 168 - Ex-RBS boss's Fred Goodwin's 2007 pay of £4.19m could have funded 28 hospital consultants (on £150k) or 140 heart transplants (at £30k) or 168 band 5 nurses (on £25k).

Jan 2009

• 130 - the volume in decibels of some golf-balls when hit with one of the new generation of thin-faced titanium drivers. Just 85 decibels can damage your hearing. All together now: Fore! (Source: BMJ.) More on safe hearing.
• 41 - hospital admissions for heart attacks fell by 41% in Pueblo, Colorado after a ban on smoking in all public places was introduced in 2003. There were 399 admissions in the 18 months before the ban and 237 in the 18 months after. (Source: US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.)

Dec 2008

• 58 and 14.5 - in the USA, 58% of male chief executives are over six feet tall compared to 14.5% of men in the general population.
• 4 - the death rate of men in routine jobs in north east England is nearly four times that of men in managerial or professional jobs in the south-east say the Office for National Statistics.

Nov 2008

• 5 - only 5% of women feel safe in the UK according to statistics published for White Ribbon Day, 25 November. 73% of women worry about being raped while almost half have experienced domestic violence, sexual assault or stalking. More on the White Ribbon Campaign.
• 75,000,000,000 - the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest predict that sales of counterfeit or fake medicines will reach $75 billion by 2010. Latest news on fake drugs online.
• 1 - the BMJ, the publishing arm of the British Medical Assocation, is to publish its first ever medical journal on a complementary therapy. It will publish Acupuncture in Medicine from January 2009.
• 990 - the number of firework-related injuries around 5 November in 2005. Why 2005? Because the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform no longer bothers to collect these statistics.

Oct 2008

• 3.5 and 4.5 - Eurostat, the EU's statistics arm, have calculated that somebody in the EU dies from work-related causes every three-and-a-half minutes and that an EU worker is involved in an accident that forces them to stay at home for at least three working days every four-and-a-half seconds.
• 84 - fast-eating men are 84% more likely to be overweight according to a Japenese study of 3,000 people. The old wives' tale about chewing everything 20 times might just be true. 
• 89 - the maximum safe level in decibels for listening to an MP3 player. EU experts estimate that up to 10 million ipod addicts in Europe are listening to music too loud with a permanent risk to their hearing. The legal maximum for MP3 players sold in Europe is 100 decibels so there's plenty of scope for blowing out your eardrums. More on this: Noise Annoys.  
• 2,500 - the number of deaths every single day in India from smoking. On 2 October, the government banned smoking in public places in the country. Health authorities in Britain estimate that 400,000 smokers gave up the weed in the year following the bans here.

Sept 2008

• 246 - the number of deaths from taking MDMA (ecstasy) between 2003 and 2007 - an average of about one a week. The Government's Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs may recommend the drug be downgraded from class A to class B.
• 20,000 - the number of cancer deaths that could be prevented in Britain every year if we received as much sun as the average American according to Bill Grant, a former Nasa scientist turned vitamin D expert. (Source: The Times)
• 50 - the number of people who die everyday in the UK from bowel cancer - a disease which if diagnosed promptly is perfectly treatable. Too shy to tell the doc about a problem with your arse? You could die of embarrassment. More on bowel problems.
• 10% - the increase in sexual attractiveness as a result of booze. Shown the same pictures, sober men rated the women in them 10% less attractive than those who'd had a single vodka. What would the effect be of a few pints? (Source: University of Bristol).

August 2008

• 796,000,000 - the total number of NHS prescriptions written in 2007, more than double the total for 1997 when the Labour government was elected. Two-thirds of prescriptions are for people over 60.

July 2008

• 12,000 and 2.1 - the reduction in car use in the USA following the  increases in petrol prices (down 2.1% in the first 4 months of 2008) will mean 12,000 fewer deaths in traffic accidents according to the University of California. It will also mean 2,200 fewer respiratory deaths and a 10% reduction in obesity. (Source: LA Times)
• 40% - We're in denial about weight: more of us are fat - fewer of us realise it. In 1999, 43% of Brits were overweight. Now it's 53%. But only 40% of men (and 75% of women) who were overweight knew it, down from 65% (and 85%) in 1999. (Source: Health Behaviour Research Centre at University College London)

June 2008

• 36,000,000 - the number of working days lost every year in the UK due to work-related ill health and injury - that's one and half days for every single worker.
• 52 and 78 - The north-south divide in life-expectancy is alive and well. Men have a 78% chance of reaching 75 in east Dorset compared to just 52% in Manchester. London was the exception. In the early 1980s the 75+ survival rate was above the national average, but now it is below. (Source: UK Stats Authority.)

May 2008

• 0.5 - Burma spends less than 0.5% of its total national income (GDP) on health, the lowest in the world. Admittedly this is not the best measure of health care in a country. These figures include public and private spending so a very high figure may simply suggest an inefficient service. The UK spends around 8% of GDP, the US 15%.
• 1, 4 and 33 - judging by the media coverage you'd think that our computer keyboards are death traps. But in fact, the Which survey that prompted all the fuss found just 4 keyboards hazardous to health out of the 33 tested (just 12%). Only one of these was dirtier than a toilet seat. Not nice but all the same: let's calm down.
• 2331 - the total number of organisations and experts who registered for last week's Men's Health Week - a record. With this year's week coming up in June dedicated to a subject that affects all of us - men and work, can we set a new high? More information about the week from the MHF.

April 2008

• 50 and 51 - between 2004 and 2007, global maize production increased by 51 million tonnes; 50 million of these were used in US biofuels. The US now burns enough corn to satisfy the import needs of the 82 countries most in need in the current food crisis. (Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organisation)
• 22.8 - the UK marriage rate is at an all-time low with just 22.8 men per 1000 and 20.5 women per 1000 tieing the knot in 2006. This is the lowest rate since records began in 1862. Some 45% of marriages end in divorce. (Source: National Statistics.)
• 16 - Just 16% of pubs surveyed by The Publican magazine said the traditional 125ml - ie one unit of alcohol - glass was their normal size. 175ml was standard in 75% of pubs, with 14% using the 250ml glass - equivalent to a third of a bottle - as a standard measure.
• 22, 8, 6 and 2 - Australia's aboriginal peoples are 22 times more likely to die from diabetes than other Australians, 8 times more likely to die of heart disease, 8 times more likely to die from lung disease, 6 times more likely to die from a stroke and more than twice as likely to die from self-harm. Nearly all the planet's 350 million indigenous people have similar experiences. (Source: Survival International.)
• 30 - 30% of junior doctors are working on teams with at least one vacancy according to the British Medical Association. They say this leads to long hours and could affect patient care.

March 2008

• 24 - Baby boys are 24% more likely to die in their first year than baby girls according to a 100 years worth of data from 16 countries including England and Wales. (Source: US journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.)
• 27 and less than 1 - 27% of the media coverage of mental health is about murder and violence yet just 5 murders out of the 600 committed every year (less than 1%) is a random killing of a stranger by someone with a mental health problem. In fact the number of murders by people with mental health problems has remained stable since the 1950s despite a tripling in the total number of murders. (Source: Shift.)
• 1,000,000 - the number of pages of evidence that the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency trawled through before deciding there was no chance of conviction against drug company GlaxoSmithKline for witholding information on the dangers of their anti-depressant Seroxat. Promising to strengthen the law, health minister Dawn Primarolo said all pharmaceutical companies "should disclose any information they have that would have a bearing on the protection of health".
• 25% - one in four people who have a heart attack do not bother to fill the prescription for the drugs that could prevent another one according to a Canadian study. (Source: the American Heart Association journal Circulation.) 

February 2008

• 1,100,000: the number of Britons known to currently have an eating disorder. Experts believe the numbers could actually be much higher as many cases go undiagnosed. More on eating disorders.
• £58,000,000 - the NHS's bill for Viagra and other erectile dysfunction drugs in 2006 - up from £17,500,000 in 2000. In 2006, there were a total of 17 million prescriptions.
• 495 and 584 - 495 is the number of calories in a Big Mac. 584 is the number a Pret a Manger ham, cheese and mustard sandwich. Proof indeed that a fancy French name doesn't make it healthy. After pressure from the National Consumer Council, Pret have promised to start providing nutritional information on their food.
• 3 and a third - three drugs - warfarin, insulin and digoxin - are responsible for a third of all serious adverse drug reactions (defined as those requiring a visit to ER) among the over 65s according to a US survey published in the Annals of Internal Medicine.

January 2008

• 396 and 15% - some full fat milk coffee drinks sold in popular chains contain nearly 400 calories - more than 15% of the total male daily calorie requirement - according to a survey by Which? A milk-free Americano by contrast contains just 17 calories, a skimmed milk cappucino around 30.
• 3 - three people die every day in Britain because there are not enough organ donors. To become a donor, click here.
• 200,000 and 20% - Heart disease and strokes cause 200,000 deaths a year and account for 20% of all hospital admissions - so said PM Gordon Brown on 7 January as he made the welcome announcement of the UK's first screening programme for vascular disease.

December 2007

• 84 and 52 - Since 1980, traffic in Britain has increased by 84% and related carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 52%. Domestic transport - that's your car and mine - now accounts for a quarter of our CO2 emissions. Who says the individual can't do anything about global warming?
• 90 - the average night's sleep is 90 minutes less than in the 1920s when nine hours a night was the norm. This tallies with the experience of malehealth readers. In last month's snap survey, the majority of men said they had not had a decent night's sleep for at least a week. Stress, snoring and even Facebook were blamed by our sleep-deprived respondents. 

November 2007

• 0.6-0.7 - the optimum ratio as far as female intelligence is concerned between (narrow) waists and (curvaceous) hips according to researchers from the University of California at Santa Barbara who say that their survey of 16,000 women shows that curvy women are smarter than skinny ones.
• 30% — the amount by which men over 65 can reduce their risk of Alzheimer's Disease by eating oily fish once a week. Oily fish include: Salmon, Trout, Mackerel, Herring, Sardines, Pilchards, Kipper, Whitebait, (fresh) Tuna, Anchovies and, yes, Eels. (Source: Neurology.) 
• 8,386 — the number of deaths directly-related to alcohol in the UK in 2005, double the rate in 1991. Two out of three of these deaths were men. The UK is the only country in Europe where alcohol consumption and related deaths are increasing. 
• 11 — the number of studies into mobile phone use reviewed in an article for Occupational Environmental Medicine which concluded that there was a 'consistent pattern for an increased risk' of brain tumour in long-term mobile use (10 years plus).

October 2007

• 40 and 55 — 40% of British drivers say they have fallen asleep at the wheel - 55% admit to doing it more than once. No wonder road accidents are one of the major killers of young men.
• £1,000,000 plus — the amount of taxpayers' money spent by Mersey Care NHS Trust in its failed eight-year legal attempt to make journalist Robin Ackroyd reveal his sources for a story about their treatment of Moors murderer Ian Brady. By way of comparison, a cataract operation costs around £800, a heart bypass around £8,000.

September 2007

• 39-34-41 — the vital stats of the average woman. In 1951, she was 37-28-39. Women weigh on average 10lb more than in the 50s. Men weigh on average 18lb more and are SEVEN inches fatter around the waist.
• 1 metre — contrary to popular belief, mobile phones CAN effect hospital equipment. A study at the University of Amsterdam recorded nearly 50 cases of electromagnetic interference and recommended keeping phones at least 1m away from equipment and beds.

August 2007

• over 200 — the pulse rates recorded by some young fit volunteers in a stress test at Heathrow Airport this month. These unhealthy levels are four times normal and higher than athletes experience. (Source: Daily Telegraph)
• 80 and 9 — In 1970, 80% of primary school children walked to school on their own. Today the figure is less than 9%. (Source: The Times.)
• 7 teaspoons — watch out for hidden sugars in fruit-flavoured mineral waters. A 50cl bottle of Volvic's Touch of Fruit contains 7 teaspons (27.5g) of sugar - nearly as much as a can of Coke (35g)
• 40,000,000 — the number of prescriptions for statins every year in the UK. (Up from 8,000,000 in 2000).

July 2007

• 1 and 1 — on average GPs get a drug company promotional mailing every day and a visit from a drug company rep every week. In the survey, 25% of GPs had been sponsored by a drug company to attend a conference or other event in the UK, 5% abroad (Source: Which).
• 1 in 58 and 210,000 — autism, which affects four times as many men as women may affect 1 person in 58 rather than the usual estimate of 1 in 100. This means some 210,000 under-16s have the condition. (Source, Autism Research Centre, Cambridge University).
• 100 and 18 - The celebrity-fronted 'Product Red' campaign which urged us to buy 'Red' branded goods to raise money for AIDS treatment in Africa cost $100 million to run. It raised just $18 million.

June 2007

• 2 - the north-south divide in health adds up to 2 years. A boy born in the south today will live on average two years longer than one born in the north. (Source: The Health Profile of England - 4.7MB version).
• 3.5 million - number of men risking a long-term medical condition through fear of going to the doctor. 4.7MB version. (Source: MHF survey)

May 2007

• Is cricket a killer - the suicide rate among cricketers is more than twice the national average according to the book Silence of the Heart: Cricket Suicides by David Frith.
• 89% and 67% - 89% of women love to receive a compliment BUT 67% say it makes them feel uncomfortable if it comes from anyone but their partner (Daily Telegraph).
• 10% - in the world's big cities, people are walking 10% faster today than 12 years ago. Fastest city in the 32 city survey was Singapore. Dublin was fifth, New York 8th and London 12th. Good for our health? Maybe, if we're walking as much as we were 12 years ago though other research has suggested fast walkers may have more heart disease. Something to think about when you stroll to the office.
• 25% - a study of 3000 Americans with high blood pressure over 10-15 years found that those who reduced their salt intake by 25% were also 25% less likely to have a heart attack or stroke. (Harvard Medical School.)
• 70% and 5 - children who live within 200m of high voltage electricity lines have a 70% higher risk of developing leukaemia than those who live 600+m away. This adds up to about five out of the total of 400 cases of childhood leukaemia a year. (Department of Health funded Draper Report, 2005)

April 2007

• Boys are born to non-smokers - would-be parents can halve their chances of having boy if both smoke. (Source: Independent on Sunday.)
• Spare a thought for our soldiers - over the past 20 years, more servicemen and women have committed suicide than have died in action. (Source: Independent on Sunday.)
• 15 — just 15 minutes exercise a day - walking to school, kicking a ball etc - halves the risk of a child being obese according to research at the University of Bristol.

March 2007

• 30,000 — the number of NHS patients who had maggots applied to their wounds in the last year. Their love of rotting flesh means the little wrigglers remain the best way to treat certain ulcers and other wounds that won't heal.
• 1.7 and 1.4 - 1.7% of boys and 1.4% of girls aged 15-23 had used body-building steroids according to a five year US study at the University of Minnesota that followed 2,500 youths. Those who began young were 4 to 10 times more likely to use later in life.
• 31% - in a US study of men aged 18-35, 31% - nearly 1 in 3 - had experienced condom breakage in the previous 3 months — the cause was usually the result of not putting it on properly. No-nos included using scissors to open the packs and not getting air out of the condom before putting it on. 4.7MB version.

Feb 2007

• 70% and 80% - 80% of calls to Childline about suicide come from girls yet among 15-21 year-olds suicide is three times more common among boys. Research suggests that depression and anxiety have increased among UK adolescents by 70% in 25 years.
• 50% - at least half of the Viagra sold online is probably fake.
• $180 billion a year — the cost of 'presenteeism' in the USA according to research by business consultants CCH . 56% of human resources pros see people turning up at work regardless of their how ill they are as a problem. A hangover from the 'lunch is for wimps' working culture of the 80s, the problem has persisted in an era of over-work and job insecurity. Two-thirds of the time, sick people go to work because they feel they have too much work.

Jan 2007

• 57 and 51 - The idea that teenage girls are slacker with contraception than older women has been punctured by a survey of women requesting abortions in Glasgow. 57% of teenagers had not used contraception compared to 51% of older women. No significant difference. 
• 62 and 45 - 62% of men in a relationship are overweight compared to 45% of men who are not. Apparently about a third of men have a beer-gut but two out of every five of them did not think they were overweight. (Source: a market research company for a health firm.)
• 20 - British men eat about 20 different food additives every day. Some eat as many as 50. Interestingly, this research was commissioned not by a campaigning organisation but by the food manufacturer Birds Eye.

Dec 2006

• 5,396 - the number of calls received on boxing day, the busiest day over the Christmas period for the Samaritans. This is 29% up on last year. The Samaritans number is 08457 90 90 90.
• 4 out of 5: proportion of young people who have used cannabis. Half of them had blackouts and experienced paranoia according to Young Minds, a mental health charity.

Oct 2006

• £800,000 - the out of court settlement offered to Liam Grant by Roche, the manufacturers of the acne drug Roaccutane which Mr Grant believes drove his son to suidice. Mr Grant turned it down. Over 100 suicides have been linked to the drug and he wants the case to go to court.
• Cigarette sales in Scotland have risen 5% since the ban on smoking in public places was introduced in March. Similar rises have been reported in other countries with smoking bans such as Spain and Ireland. Surprising or do people just smoke more fags when they do it at home?

Sept 2006

• 'Dad, your drugs are so boring!' - 9.9% of 12-17 year-olds used illicit drugs in the USA last year (DOWN from 11.6% in 2002); 4.4% of over 50s used illicit drugs in the USA last year (UP from 2.7% in 2002).
• 1 in 3 adults and 1 in 5 children will be obese by 2010 according to the government. That's 13 million obese Britons in four years.
• the number of overweight people in the world (1,000,000,000) has overtaken the number pf people with not enough to eat (800,000,000) for the first time.

August 2006

• Sales of men's magazines have crashed in the last six months. Maxim is down 35.8%, FHM down 24.9% Loaded down 21.9% and Zoo down 12.4%. The only mags showing much improvement were Men's Health (up 3.4%) and Men's Fitness (up 1.8%). And yet the men's mag editors continue to believe that men don't want to read about health.