LONDON, 2 Dec 98 (AP) -- Men who detest Christmas shopping have a new excuse -- it's hazardous to the their health.

Male stress levels skyrocket when faced with crowded stores, choosing gifts and standing in check-out lines, a British researcher says.

"In some cases, when we looked at heart rate and blood pressure, this is something you'd expext to see in a fighter pilot going into combat or policemen going into dangerous situations," said psychologist David Lewis, who did the research.

Lewis' consulting firm was commissioned for the study by the Brent Cross Shopping Center in north London as part of its efforts to reduce shoppers' stress during the Christmas season.

Lewis recruited 35 shoppers and sent them last month to stores in London's crowded Oxford Street with identical Christmas lists. Shoppers ranged in age from 22-79. Two-thirds were women. Some went alone and some were accompanied by children.

Heart rate and blood pressure were regularly recorded by monitors worn by the shoppers, who were interviewed by a researcher before and after the trip.

Every man in the survey registered considerable increases in blood pressure and heart rates while only one in four women registered a significant change.

Most men surveyed admitted that the stress of Christmas shopping would make them choose the first gift they see rather than spend time in crowded stores. Loud music in some stores also added to the stress for male shoppers, Lewis said.

Lewis, who is writing a book about consumer shopping habits aimed at retailers, said it all probably comes down to women generally being more experienced and comfortable with shopping.

"Men like shopping, provided they're going out to buy a Lear jet or a Porche or a computer or something, a toy for a boy," he said. "But when actually forced to do domestic shopping, that's then they become very stressed out and very fed up."

Dr. Mark Copley, a psychologist at St. George's Hospital Medical School in London, said Lewis' research generally makes sense. It is especially notable, he said, because women have higher stress levels than men to begin with.

"It sounds intuitively like men don't like shopping anyway and would find it stressful," he said.