Thursday, December 22, 2011

Dying young

Homeless people in England die 30 years younger than the national average, research has suggested.

The report for the charity Crisis found an average homeless person has a life expectancy of 47, compared with 77 for the rest of the population. the mean age of death for women was found to be even lower, at 43.

Drug and alcohol abuse account for a third of all deaths among the homeless. While drug and alcohol abuse often lead to homelessness, being without a home exacerbates the problem.

Homeless people are nine times more likely to commit suicide than the rest of the population and deaths as a result of traffic accidents are three times more common.


No comments: