Men's health statistics - the headline figures 

Men's health is poor according to a range of measures. It also varies depending on race, class and other differences.

• The average UK male life expectancy at birth is currently 75.3 years. But men in higher managerial jobs (78.5 years) can expect to live three and half year longer than men in manual work. Click here for more on life and death.
• Men take risks. Two in five (39%) drink too much. More than one in four (28%) smoke and one in three younger men (35%) use illegal drugs. Click here for more on risk-taking.
• Diagnoses of both prostate and testicular cancer are up since the early 1990s. Men are now more likely than women to be mentally ill. Click here for more on men and disease.  
• Men are increasingly unlikely to consult a doctor. Click here for more on men and doctors.
• Compared to the wider population, Indian, Bangladeshi, Black Caribbean and Irish men are at greater risk of heart disease and stroke. Click here for more on men and race.
• Men in routine and manual jobs are more likely to smoke and have chronic health problems than other men. Click here for more on men and class.
• Men in the north of the UK are generally less healthy than men in the south. Men from Manchester and Blackpool have the shortest life expectancy. Click here for more on regional variations.

A detailed analysis of men's health is available in the report Independent Inquiry into Inequalities in Health (The Stationery Office; London, 1998) at www.doh.gov.uk/ih/ih.htm

Statistics sections: