Middle-aged people who are overweight, smoke and have raised blood pressure and high cholesterol will die on average 15 years sooner than those without such problems, research suggests.

A study of 19,000 men has calculated the impact of different risk factors on life expectancy, and how many years are lost once a person is past the age of 50.

It concludes that a combination of smoking, high cholesterol and high blood pressure reduces life expectancy by ten years, while those with other added health worries, such as being overweight, may die 15 years earlier.

The research, published online in the British Medical Journal, comes as a report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the health regulator, suggests greater efforts to prevent cardiovascular disease. The chances of dying from the disease, which is a group of conditions affecting the heart, arteries or blood vessels, is increased by problems such as obesity, smoking and raised cholesterol. Britain remains one of the worst countries in Europe for cardiovascular disease, with more than 200,000 deaths annually.

The report by the CQC suggests that 350,000 people in England are living with undiagnosed heart disease or strokes, and that the diagnosis is being missed by GPs particularly in communities that are more deprived.

The report, the first analysis of cardiovascular disease care in 8,300 GP practices and 152 primary care trusts in England, notes a decline in overall death rates because of reductions in smoking and increased prescribing of cholesterol-lowering statins. It warns, though, that more needs to be done about unrecorded cases of the disease, particularly in the poorest areas of the country. The report concludes that people in these communities have more complex health problems and may suffer greater disease progression before seeking help.

The men who took part in the study, which was led by Robert Clarke, of the University of Oxford, were aged 40 to 69 and were civil servants in London when they were first examined between 1967 and 1970.

The researchers found that men with three risk factors for heart disease had a three-times higher risk of dying because of vascular disease and twice the risk of death from non-vascular reasons than men without the risk factors. If the men smoked and had raised cholesterol and blood pressure at the start of the study, they had a ten-year shorter life expectancy from the age of 50.

The researchers then calculated a risk score based on further factors — smoking, diabetes, employment grade, blood pressure, cholesterol concentration and body mass index. Compared with men in the lowest 5 per cent of this risk score, men in the highest 5 per cent had a 15-year shorter life expectancy from the age of 50.

The authors said: “Continued public health strategies to lower mean levels of the three main cardiovascular risk factors, together with more intensive medical treatment for ‘high-risk’ subgroups, could result in further improvements in life expectancy.”

Professor Peter Weissberg, medical director of the British Heart Foundation, which helped to fund the research, said: “This important study puts a figure on the life-limiting effects of smoking, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. It provides a stark illustration of how these risk factors in middle age can reduce life expectancy.

“Although the study only involved men there is no reason why the same should not apply to women. I urge all men and women over 40 to have a health check, that all GPs can provide, which will include finding out blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and start to address areas of concern.”

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