Left-handed women are at a higher risk of dying, particularly from cancer and circulatory diseases, a study has suggested.
Numerous reports have associated left-handedness with various disorders and, in general, a shorter life span, according to a report by Dutch researchers in the journal Epidemiology.
Dr Made K Ramadhani and colleagues from University Medical Centre Utrecht write: “Left-handers are reported to be under-represented in the older age groups, although such findings are still much debated.”
It is estimated that about one in 10 people is left-handed.
The researchers followed 12,178 middle-aged Dutch women for nearly 13 years, 252 of whom died.
When left-handed women were statistically compared with other women, the left-handers had 40 per cent more chance of dying from any cause, a 70 per cent higher risk of dying from cancer, and a 30 per cent higher risk of dying from diseases of the circulatory system.
Left-handed women also had twice as much chance of dying from breast cancer, nearly five times the risk of dying from colo-rectal cancer, and more than three times the risk of dying from a cerebrovascular condition.
The study could not pinpoint the mechanism for the increased risk, but suggested genetics and environmental factors may be involved.
Isn’t it enough that we could never get the scissors to work when we were in elementary school?
UPDATE: Since I’m getting a fair amount of traffic to this post, I added a comment. It then occurred to me that, since it’s my site, I might as well move my comment up to the post itself. So here is a reiteration of what I’ve said below:
All these interesting left-handed comments. Yes, it’s true that in the old days, Lefties were considered “sinister,” the old Latin word for Left that got conflated with evil. And it’s certainly true that the older generation was trained away from being Left handed, something I understand is still true in several cultures.
Also, this study isn’t precisely new. I grew up knowing from studies of baseball players that Lefties had shorter life spans. With regard to the men, there was a theory that they were more likely to die in traffic accidents. Think about it: when something suddenly appears in the lane in front of you, do you swing left or right to avoid it? Most people, in moments of extreme terror, swing to their dominant side. In terms of lefties, that means swinging into on coming traffic.
But I still think we’ve build up years of heart damage because of all the frustration about scissors that just won’t cut!
UPDATE II: A silly take out of Britain on both the upsides and the down of being a leftie.
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So, left-handed women had a 40% higher chance of dying from any cause. The rest were…immortal?
And I’m sure a study will show the left-handed women earn 20 percent less than left-handed men too.
This study has some serious problems.
Everybody’s risk of dying is precisely the same: 100%.
Hello, I am 63 and left handed. Where the heck do they get this kind of info and we the tax payers pay for what a joke? No one knows when someone’s time is up and please stop wasting my time with such research.)))))))
what kind of research is that. I’M A LEFTY AND I’M IN TIP TOP SHAPE AND I’M 40 . LET ME SAY THIS.. MAN DON’T KNOW EVERYTHING ONLY GOD KNOWS HOW LONG WE WILL LIVE AND TO PUT THE ICING ON THE CAKE,. STOP WASTEING TAXPAYERS MONEY ON SUCH NONSENSE AND RESEARCH A CURE FOR AIDS AND CANCER.
In my opinion, the factor that has been left out in these studies is that most people in the generation before the baby-boomers were switched by their parents. Therefore we should be tracking people my age (60 years) to see how long we live. We really don’t know about those people who had their hand tied behind their backs for years.
Jan makes the point I was thinking of. If the study includes women in their 70s and 80s (and older) chances are the right-hand group really includes many women who were born to be left-handers. That makes all the results meaningless. So relax, BW, and if you’re still nervous, just eat more broccoli – it’s the Anti-Bacon.
(I have something at stake in this, since I write exclusively with my left hand, but strangely enough, do everything else with my right. Weird, huh?)
Now I understand why Bacon and Broccoli go together so well. Thank you, Judyrose.
my mother was left handed. She died at 61 of an anuerism to the brain.
I write and eat lefty, everything else right. So what does that mean???
I think you can do all the studies you want, it’s your time when it’s your time!
Wasn’t the old theory that lefties were evil or witches.
All these interesting left-handed comments. Yes, it’s true that in the old days, Lefties were considered “sinister,” the old Latin word for Left that got conflated with evil. And it’s certainly true that the older generation was trained away from being Left handed, something I understand is still true in several cultures.
Also, this study isn’t precisely new. I grew up knowing from studies of baseball players that Lefties had shorter life spans. With regard to the men, there was a theory that they were more likely to die in traffic accidents. Think about it: when something suddenly appears in the lane in front of you, do you swing left or right to avoid it? Most people, in moments of extreme terror, swing to their dominant side. In terms of lefties, that means swinging into on coming traffic.
But I still think we’ve build up years of heart damage because of all the frustration about scissors that just won’t cut!
If 252 women died, and IF about one in ten were lefties (I don’t see the actual number listed, do you?) — you’re looking at stats and analysis based on the deaths of 25 women, give or take a couple? Yes? Gee, that’s scientific…
On a lighter note, what should those of us who were ambidextrous in our youth make of these ’suggestions’? Until teachers and my mother freaked out and insisted I become right handed, I used either hand for whatever task came along. (Except for scissors. I so hear you on the scissors.) I suppose ambidextrous people didn’t even get studied in this overhyped little study? (Which fact, if true, wouldn’t bother me the least little bit, by the way.)
Advantage to left-handed women due to the’surprise’ factor in hand-to-hand combat with their husbands since 92% of the male population is right handed.
Try this: http://www.thelefthand.com
Scissors for lefties under $5.
All sorts of other stuff.
Problem solved.
(except the dropping dead thing)
You wrote:
With regard to the men, there was a theory that they were more likely to die in traffic accidents. Think about it: when something suddenly appears in the lane in front of you, do you swing left or right to avoid it? Most people, in moments of extreme terror, swing to their dominant side. In terms of lefties, that means swinging into on coming traffic.
This, of course, would not be so in the UK.
Excellent point, soccer dad. However, to the extent the studies I knew about where of baseball players (since we know whether they’re left or right handed), I guess they were focused on American outcomes, without regard to those silly wrongsided Brits!
But I still think we’ve build up years of heart damage because of all the frustration about scissors that just won’t cut!
The visual image there was very very funny to me. I just wanted people to know.