High mortality among Saudi males needs study: Doctor

JEDDAH — A Saudi healthcare official has called for an in-depth study into the causes of the un-proportionately high mortality rate among males in the Kingdom. Nearly 45,700 Saudis, 63 percent of them males, have died during the Hijrah year 1436, according to a report issued by the Municipal and Rural Affairs Ministry. Of the total number of 45,683 deaths recorded during the year, 28,802 were men and 16,881 were women, said the report carried by Makkah daily. The ministry said the deaths covered people in all age groups from newborns to the elderly (those aged 60 and above). The highest number of deaths was in the age group of 60 and above (10,397), followed by 7,785 deaths among male babies aged less than a year. There were 5,340 deaths in the age group of 15 to 45 and 3,854 deaths in the 40-60 age group. Dr. Ali Al-Zahrani, chairman of the Saudi Epidemiology Association, said the substantial increase in deaths among men should be studied by experts to find out the reasons behind it. “The report covers not only the elderly but men of all age groups,” he told Makkah daily. He said some deaths in remote regions were not recorded and considered it as the reason for the slight decrease in the rate of deaths in those regions. “Hereditary and contagious diseases are one of the main killers,” Al-Zahrani said. Accidents at homes are the main reason for the deaths of children aged 1 to 5 while accidents in general are the main reason for the death of children aged 6 to 14. Young men die mainly of road accidents while the elderly because of chronic diseases, he explained. Al-Zahrani gave six reasons for increase in deaths among men aged 15 and above -- accidents in general, food poisoning, fire and falling from buildings, road accidents, smoking, cancer (signs of cancer appear in men at a later stage), drug addiction and extreme stress. Meanwhile, the latest report issued by the Health Ministry said the average life expectancy of Saudi women is 75.6 years, which is 2.5 years more than that of men (73.1). “The figures on mortality rate issued by the Health Ministry conform to the report of the Municipal and Rural Affairs Ministry,” the report said, adding that many women die of complications during childbirth. Saudi Arabia’s population stood at 30.8 million at the end of 2014, according to data released by the Kingdom’s Central Department of Statistics and Information (CDSI). There were 20.7 million Saudis, making up 67 percent of the population, while the number of foreigners stood at 10.1 million or 33 percent.