IN the classic novel She by H Rider Haggard, it was an African queen who bathed in the flame of eternal life to stay for ever young. In reality it is He who has the much stronger instinct for survival.

A study shows that 60% of men would want every life-saving device used on them to prolong their life in old age.

Only 16% of women opted for the same type of repeated treatments, which range from mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to defibrillation — an electric shock to the heart.

At the same time 66% of women would not want to be saved if they were a burden to their family. Only 39% of men gave the same response.

Psychologists from Surrey University have questioned scores of people aged over 65, their relatives and carers about their attitude to their final days.

The research, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, will be used to write a leaflet on preparing for death that will be put in GPs’ surgeries.

The results show that standards of living have little to do with the desire to grasp every last minute of life.

Of those questioned, 68% of men and women classified as belonging to a higher socioeconomic group were against their lives being artificially prolonged. Only a quarter of this group wanted to stay alive by any means.

But of those in a lower socioeconomic group, 40% wanted life prolonged, against 30% who did not.

Researchers, who carried out interviews with 122 people, believe this indicates that the better educated are more prepared for death and understand the ramifications for loved ones if they are kept alive artificially.

Sarah Hampson, a professor of psychology who led the research at Guildford, said older people had to be encouraged to discuss their views on end-of-life medical treatment with their families.

“It might be a good idea for older people to sit down with their families over a meal and discuss what they want to happen if they become very ill,” she said.

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