Difference between revisions of "Why Are Women Living Longer Than Men"

Revision as of 19:06, 13 January 2022

Everywhere in the world women live longer than men - but this was not always the case. The available data from rich countries shows that women didn't live longer than men in the 19th century. What is the reason women live longer than men and why has this advantage increased in the past? We have only a small amount of evidence and the evidence is not strong enough to make a definitive conclusion. Although we know that there are biological, behavioral and environmental variables which all play a part in women who live longer than men, we don't know how much each factor contributes.

In spite of the precise amount, تحاميل مهبلية we can say that at least part of the reason why women live so much longer than men today but not previously, تحاميل مهبلية has to have to do with the fact that a number of key non-biological factors have changed. These variables are evolving. Some are well known and relatively straightforward, like the fact that men smoke more often. Certain are more complicated. For example, there is evidence that in rich countries the female advantage increased in part because infectious diseases used to affect women disproportionately a century ago, so advances in medicine that reduced the long-term health burden from infectious diseases, especially for survivors, ended up raising women's longevity disproportionately.

Everywhere in the world women tend to live longer than men
The first chart below shows life expectancy at birth for men and women. We can see that all countries are above the diagonal parity line ; it means that in all nations that a baby girl can be expected to live longer than a newborn boy.1

It is interesting to note that although the female advantage exists everywhere, the global differences are significant. In Russia women live 10 years more than males. In Bhutan, the difference is just half a year.

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The advantage of women in life expectancy was less in rich countries as compared to the present.
Let's examine how the gender advantage in longevity has changed over time. The chart below shows male and female life expectancies at the time of birth in the US in the years 1790 to 2014. Two points stand out.

First, there is an upward trend. Men and women in America have longer lives than they were 100 years ago. This is in line with historical increases in life expectancy everywhere in the world.

And second, there is an increase in the gap between men and women: female advantage in life expectancy used be quite small but it increased substantially during the last century.

You can confirm that these points are also applicable to other countries with data by selecting the "Change country" option in the chart. This includes the UK, France, and Sweden.