Left- vs Right-Handed Death Rates

Focus Sentence: A recent study shows that people dominant with their left hand may live an average 6 years less than those dominant with their right hand.

Visual: a bar-chart showing average age at time of death for left- and right-handed men and women.

By David Blackwell

A recent study shows that people dominant with their left hand may live an average 6 years less than those dominant with their right hand.

The study, conducted last year, compares the death and accident rate of left- and right-handed people. California State University psychology professor Diane Halpern and University of British Columbia researcher Stanley set out to discover why there are fewer left-handed people amongst the elderly.

The researchers began their study by examining death certificates of 987 people in Southern California, as well as talking to relatives of the deceased via mail. In the end, they concluded that on average, left-handed women and men die at 72 and 62 respectively, while right-handed women and men die at 78 and 73 respectively.

"The results are striking in their magnitude," said Halpern. Left handed people, who make up over 10 percent of the population, are 4 times more likely to die in car accidents and 6 times more likely to die from accidents overall.

Halpern said, "Almost all engineering is geared to the right hand and right foot. There are many more car and other accidents among left-handers because of their environment."

However, the conclusions from this study should be applied cautiously. "It should not, of course, be used to predict the life of any one individual," Halpern said. "There are many, many old left-handed people."