BARCELONA, Aug. 30 -- The so-called 'French Paradox' -- a lower incidence of heart disease despite typical Western risk factors for disease -- might just be an error, stemming from a fluke in health reporting. For years scientists have been mystified by lower heart disease death rates in France compared with other countries in Western Europe and the industrialized world. French data indicated that levels of cholesterol, smoking and other risk factors were the same, but heart disease was less. French consumption of wine was often cited as a possible reason the death from heart disease was lower. But at the annual congress of the European Society of Cardiology, researchers suggested today that factors other than dietary habits might explain the 'paradox.' Dr. Michel de Lorgeril of Lyons, a scientist with the French National Center for Scientific Research, said a comparison of data of official statistics from French cities with similar World Health Organization cause-of-death data shows that the French underreported coronary deaths. De Lorgeril said that the WHO data was 75 to 90 percent higher than the local statistics. He also analyzed alcohol-related deaths, finding that French men were more likely to die of gastrointestinal cancers than in other countries, and French men were far more likely to commit suicide, suffer violent deaths or die in accidents than men in other European countries. Dr. Ian Graham, professor of epidemiology at Trinity College, Dublin, explained that de Lorgeril's statistics seemed to indicate that the low rate of coronary deaths in France might be due 'to competing causes of death.'

He suggested that because many more French men die from alcohol-related causes before they have the opportunity to die of heart disease. Overall, de Lorgeril said that French men have a lower average life span than others in Europe. For example, men in Sweden can expect to live 76.5 years on average; in France, a man's average life span is 74.1 years. The story is different for women, however. French women have a longevity of 82 years, even surpassing Swedish women, who live 81.5 years on average. De Lorgeril said epidemiological data on the food and alcohol intake of French women are lacking. He said developing that data could help explain why the French Paradox continues to be a mystery for women. ---NEWLN:Copyright 1999 by United Press InternationalNEWLN:All rights reservedNEWLN:---