Health Knowledge: Why do women generally live longer than men around the world?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2016, the average life expectancy at birth for the global population is 72 years.
However, when broken down, the average life expectancy for women is 74 years and 2 months, while for men it is 69 years and 8 months.
According to the 2010 U.S. Census, there were 53,364 people over the age of 100 in the United States, of whom 44,202 were women and only 9,162 were men.
What are the reasons why women live longer than men?
Genetic advantage
Women have been shown to outlive men at birth for as long as records have been kept, and this seems to be the case in every country.
That is, females have an advantage over males from birth because of their genes.
Male embryos have a higher mortality rate than female embryos,” says Professor James of University College London.
One reason for this may be the role played by the chromosomes that determine our sex.
Women have two XX chromosomes, while men have one X and one Y.
Chromosomes carry genes, and the X chromosome carries many of the genes that keep you alive.
Professor James explained that if you are female, you have a backup even though you have a genetic deficiency in your X chromosome. But if you’re a male, you don’t have a backup.
Harris, a faculty member at the University of Exeter, said, “The mortality rate for male infants is 20-30 percent higher than for female infants in the second trimester. Male babies also have a 14% higher chance of premature birth than female babies. In addition, because male babies are large, the risk of injury at birth is also greater.”
Among birds, males live longer than females because they have two sets of X chromosomes.
Hormonal effects
Due to hormonal changes, boys and girls start to grow into adults after puberty and become men and women.
Androgenic testosterone allows men to grow physically strong and have male characteristics, including a low voice and increased body hair.
During late adolescence, testosterone surges. This is also the time when male mortality rates rise dramatically.
Experts say this may be because men are often involved in dangerous activities such as fighting, motorcycling and motorcycling during this time. And of course, suicide.
A few years ago, a study by Korean scientists of 81 eunuchs at the court of the Joseon Dynasty since the 19th century found that they lived an average of about 70 years, but the average life expectancy of other men in the palace at the time was only 50 years.
These eunuchs had undergone orchiectomies before they reached puberty. Three of the eunuchs even lived to be 100 years old.
In general, it seems that both humans and other animals seem to live longer without testicles.
Female estrogen also contributes to women’s health because it has an “antioxidant” effect, which can help remove toxic chemicals from those cells.
In animal studies, it has been shown that female animals that have had their estrogen-producing organs removed live shorter lives, as opposed to men who have had their testicles removed.
Researchers in Spain presented a paper in 2005 that determined that estrogen increases genes associated with longevity, including those related to antioxidant enzymes.
Estrogen also helps to eliminate bad cholesterol, thus helping to protect the heart and prevent heart disease.
Human Factors
Where there is war and conflict, male life expectancy is lower. This is not surprising.
However, in places where sanitation is poor, female fertility mortality increases.
In addition, bad habits such as smoking, alcoholism, and overeating may account for such a wide gap in life expectancy between countries.
For example, Russian men may die 13 years earlier than women, partly because of their alcoholism.
However, one point of concern is that although women live longer on average, they tend to suffer more from disease, especially in later life.
In all countries, women visit the doctor more often than men, especially in the 16 to 60 age group.
In Western countries, women visit doctors more often, take more medications, and take more sick days and hospital stays than men.
At the same time, two experts from the University of Alabama, Fischer and Ostad, also noted that women’s physical activity is generally limited in later life due to health effects, especially in China, Bangladesh, Egypt, Guatemala, India, Indonesia, Jamaica, Malaysia, Mexico, the Philippines, Thailand and Tunisia.
Gap shrinks
However, recent studies have shown that the gap in life expectancy between the sexes will narrow considerably in the near future.
According to a survey conducted by Imperial College London, the life expectancy gap between men and women in the UK will be reduced to one year and nine months by 2030.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the life expectancy of a boy born in the UK today is 79 years and 2 months, while that of a girl is 82 years and 9 months.
Two British academics even predict that life expectancy for men and women in the UK will be about the same by 2032. This, they say, is due to a reduction in smoking and alcohol consumption that will allow men to live longer.
In addition, men will also benefit greatly as more progress is made in treating heart disease.
In other countries, the average life expectancy of men will also increase as road traffic deaths decline.
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