Homeless people can expect to die 30 years before the average person, new British research has found. A study showed that homeless men are dying at an average of 47 years old and homeless women at 43 years old. This is in stark contrast to the average age of death for the general population - which is 77.
The research, carried out by Sheffield University on behalf of homelessness charity Crisis, found that drug and alcohol abuse counts for just over a third of all deaths among homeless people. Suicide is also nine times more likely among people living rough than the general population. Meanwhile, it found that deaths as a result of traffic accidents are three times as likely, infections twice as common and that falls are more than three times as likely to result in death.
Leslie Morphy, chief executive of Crisis, said: "It is shocking, but not surprising, that homeless people are dying much younger than the general population. "Life on the streets is harsh and the stress of being homeless is clearly taking its toll. Ultimately, it shows that homelessness is killing people."