Fresh research has found that many problems are crossing the traditional boundaries of deprivation, writes Helen Puttick.

How do you disentangle where you're from and who you are? Start to count the influences on the way you eat, drink and think and your brain starts to whirl. It's just not possible to distil how your own inclinations are influenced by your parents, peers and the place where you live.

Yet the latest research for the Glasgow Centre for Population Health (GCPH) begins to drill into the psyche of the city and the west of Scotland on this level. Determined to improve the appalling health record of the region - which so many strategies have failed to touch - the centre's latest project is trying to find how many of the problems are isolated to the city's deprived communities and how many cross class boundaries. It detects what lifestyle traits are common to Glaswegians as a whole.

Professor Carol Tannahill, centre director, said: "The reason we undertook this piece of work was to get a better understanding of how much of Glasgow's excess burden of ill health compared to other parts of Scotland could be explained by social and economic circumstances of the people who live here."

They found some of Glasgow's health problems, such as the high rates of heart disease and smoking, were not surprising given the level of deprivation, but other issues, such as the level of binge drinking, were generally high.

The report says: "There are aspects of health which transcend the socio-economic explanation and seem to truly represent a Glasgow effect.'"

Perhaps most alarming is the greater level of stress and anxiety recorded in Greater Glasgow. People living in the area were 35% more likely to score highly on a scale of psychological distress compared with the rest of Scotland, even when the city's degree of deprivation was factored out.

Dr Tannahill stresses further investigation is needed to find out why. "You might turn to explanations like a prevailing culture," she said. "There is just generally a prevailing overall culture of less optimism."

She also highlighted the state of mind of Greater Glasgow's women in particular, suggesting this might be worthy of a deeper probe. "There may still be some structural issues about the place of women in society and the opportunities available to them," she said.

There are other reasons why the report's insight into a Glasgow mindset is striking. A key strand of GCPH's work is to explore whether people's outlook, their sense of control over their lives, is linked to their biological health. Could this evidence of mental turmoil also shed light on why, all things being equal, a man from Glasgow will die before a man from the south of England?

Dr Tannahill guards against drawing this conclusion on today's evidence. Instead, the report says all the alcohol guzzled in the area may lie at the root of a number of its problems.

Binge drinking among men, it seems, is as prevalent in Greater Glasgow's housing schemes as in more affluent parts. The report shows boozing sessions are virtually as common among men with degrees in the city as they are among those with no qualifications. But this love affair with liquor is not as deep in other parts of the country. The report says Greater Glasgow men are 30% more likely to binge drink than men from elsewhere in Scotland.

"There's a particular relationship to alcohol you find in the west of Scotland that is different to other parts of the country," said Dr Tannahill. "We do need to find new ways to challenge that culture. There are also some more structural aspects, such as the number of places where alcohol is available in the city."

Other characteristics which cross class boundaries in the region but are less prominent elsewhere are harder to explain.

Eating greens is generally less popular in the west of Scotland, according to the research, and women in the patch are more likely to add salt to their food. Yet when it comes to consuming the recommended five portions of fruit and vegetables each day, the region's performance is not out of line with other parts and the men are relatively good.

Dr Linsay Gray, author of the report, said the findings were drawn from a survey of 25,000 people carefully selected to reflect the population. It is unlikely such quirky results can be explained by the quirks of those involved.

So the behaviours that characterise the west of Scotland are complex and the forces behind them often subtle.

Dr Tannahill said: "Some of the reasons for these findings will be located in how Glasgow was a generation or two ago."

She believes the city's rapid and dramatic transformation from the home of heavy industry has shaped the way people are today.

"The economy of Glasgow changed dramatically over the last 20 or 30 years and changed very quickly," she said. "Work we have done at the centre has shown the pace and amount of change that took place was greater than any other city in the UK outside London and greater than other parts of Scotland. It is bound to have had an effect on the social structure of society and the culture of the city and the sort of roles that people in the city found for themselves."

The result is not just a distinct society, but a divided one.

Dr Tannahill says the new study shows just addressing deprivation in Glasgow will not be enough to solve its health problems. However, she also stressed the gap between the city and the rest of Scotland is actually smaller than the gap between the city's affluent and poor.

There are differences between the west of Scotland and the rest of Scotland, but there are starker contrasts between Glasgow communities sitting side by side.

I definitely eat very healthily I get my five a day naturally'
By Jo Skailes and Alan MacDermid

A change of diet can mean a change of mood and stress levels, according to Melissa Strong.

The 41-year-old from Stockbridge, in Edinburgh, said she did not currently feel under stress but, if she does, she believes dietary habits can enhance and transform her mood.

For example, adding more carbohydrates helps keep her calm because of the slow release of energy. She also points out that the difference between regularly eating ready meals and making your own means automatic regulation of ingredients such as salt.

Ms Strong, who works in design and marketing, said: "I definitely eat very healthily. I hardly eat any salt although that is not necessarily in a conscious way but I never eat ready-made meals or any kind of prepared foods which are packed with salt. I always use fresh ingredients."

She also knows carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, cereals and potatoes, while recognised as useful brain fuel, need to be offset with fruit and vegetables necessary for essential vitamins and minerals.

"I do eat a lot of vegetables for both lunch and in the evening. I don't really think about the five a day but I definitely cover that naturally."

Sensible drinking is, she says, also important. "I hardly drink any alcohol, maybe a couple of glasses when I go out but really a very minimal amount."

Paul Karmowski, a 53-year-old optician shopping in the west end of Glasgow, confessed that he tended to bring home some goodies that his wife Maureen wouldn't bother with - but even when he was breaking the rules he was ticking the right boxes.

Bars of chocolate were mainly dark and naturally rich in vitamins and minerals. Cocoa contains both antioxidants and anti-coagulants, a natural property of aspirin, helping to prevent blood clots.

Most of the rest of the trolley would pass as "good" - greens, potatoes, fish, a range of organic soups in cartons. Even his dog eats wholemeal bread.

So the family probably earned that jumbo pack of crisps (for his daughter) and the syrupy-looking apple strudel.

"I think I am quite average," says Mr Karmowski, but he confesses to one family trait - he cannot stand fruit. "I have had an aversion to it all my life. My side of the family was all the same. However, my wife and children love fruit, and we all have vegetables and salads."