Cancer rate high among Irish women

Women's death rates from cancer here are among the highest in the EU, according to a report on women's health in Europe to be published tomorrow.

The report, Women's Health in Europe: Facts and Figures Across the European Union, which is published by the European Institute of Women's Health, says gender has a significant impact on health and calls for more gender-specific health research.

It says that while death rates from cancer among men are generally higher, "the highest rates overall for women are in Denmark, Ireland and Hungary". The rate here is about 160 per 100,000 people, compared with about 110 per 100,000 in Portugal and Spain and about 130 per 100,000 in Luxembourg.

Ireland and Britain are the only states where lung cancer is declining or stabilising among women, according to the report.

Looking at lifestyle disorders the report shows "a high percentage of Italian (26 per cent) and French (9 per cent) women drinking every day". In Ireland the figure is 0.2 per cent.

However, Ireland has the highest proportion of women who say they "binge" drink, with 16 per cent saying they "binge" at least once a week, compared with 12 per cent in Britain, 2 per cent in France and 1 per cent in Sweden.

MEP Avril Doyle, a member of the advisory committee to the institute, said the key message from the report was that "gender and sex do have a significant impact on health".

"This must be reflected in member states' health services," she said. Too often women's health was seen as an issue based around their reproductive role.

The report says there is a lack of research and data on some issues. "Data on diabetes, diet and nutrition, and violence against women, is patchy for all EU countries," it concludes.