As
far as records show, women have always outlived men. This is true
for every year for all 38 countries included in the Human Mortality
Database, which dates back to 1751. Look to Sweden, the country with the
best preserved records. The life
expectancy
at birth in the 1800s was 33 years for women and 31 for men. Today
it’s 83.5 years for women and 79.5 for men. Despite all the diseases and
natural disasters that have occurred over the centuries, this separation
between males and females has remained constant.
Life expectancy in the
U.S.
is at an all-time high, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention (CDC). While the news that we’re living, on average, to the ripe old age of 78 years and 9 ½ months isn’t that
surprising, there is one statistic that is: A girl born in 2012 can expect to
live to 81.2 years—almost 5 years longer than a boy baby born the same year,
who's likely live to age 76.4. Men are biologically and sociologically at a
disadvantage from the time they’re conceived to the time they die. Here's why:
Women are less likely to be wreckless-Unintentional
injuries are the third leading cause of
death in men
for women it's only the sixth. The frontal lobes of the brain—which deal with
responsibility and risk calculation—develop much more slowly in males than
females. The result: Guys often take many more risks. Almost inevitably, a male
will take risks that a woman of his same age wouldn’t take.
Women are tougher in utero-Two and a half as many boys are conceived as
girls, but they’re so much more likely to succumb to prenatal infection or
other issues in the womb that by the time they’re born that the ratio is close
to one to one. Boys are slower to develop physically than girls prenatally,
which means they’re more likely to die if they are preemies due to underdeveloped lung or brain
development.
Women have an extra X chromosome-Women have two X chromosomes
and men have one X and one Y. These combinations do more than just
determine a human’s sex. Women are at an advantage for longevity from the
moment their cells begin to develop. The X chromosome provides over 1,000 genes
to choose from while the Y chromosome offers fewer.
Since biology shows the female body only uses one of
the thread-like structures while shutting down the other, women have an
extra sex chromosome to rely on if one is defective. Males don’t have this
option increasing their chances of developing genetic diseases linked to the X
chromosome. Males also have a higher risk of developing disease due to cell
malfunction that can come with age.
Women have
stronger social networks-Friends make
good medicine: People with strong social connections have a 50% lower chance of dying than those with few social ties.
Most men tend to hold their stress and worries in while women tend to reach out
and talk to others. The one exception: married men, which also explains why so many studies show that
they’re likely to be healthier and live longer.
Women
succumb to heart disease later-Heart disease is the leading killer of both men and
women, but men are
more likely to develop it—and die from it—as early as their 30s and 40s. Women,
on the other hand, typically develop heart disease 10 years later than
men. They're
protected from it until menopause since their bodies churn out estrogen, which
helps keep arteries strong and flexible.
The American Heart
Association says estrogen
increases the amount of good cholesterol (HDL) in females. Since the risk
of heart disease doubles for those with high cholesterol levels, as
mentioned by the CDC, men are more likely
to develop cardiovascular issues earlier than women.
Women take
better care of their health-Men are 24% less likely than women to have visited a doctor within the
past year and are 22% more likely to skip out on cholesterol testing. In fact more than a quarter
(28%) of men don’t have a regular physician and about one in five didn’t have health insurance in 2012. You can blame it on the
so-called John Wayne syndrome: Men often deny illness. They minimize symptoms
because they don’t want to go to a doctor and find out something is wrong.
Women’s lack of testosterone may
increase their life span-While testosterone is generally considered desirable, it may also
shorten the length of a man’s life. The Washington
Post says
evidence suggests eunuchs, men who’ve been castrated, have historically
lived longer than other males. The article cites one study involving
institutionalized patients in Kansas conducted in 1969.
Researchers saw an increase in lifespan by an
average of 14 years among castrated men compared to those who were not castrated.
We seem something similar by looking at records from Korea. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), biologists
examined records from the 1800s that allowed them to verify the
lifespan of 81 castrated males, finding they lived roughly 20 years longer
than other men.
The story went on to say testosterone may benefit
men in the short term by increasing strength and masculinity, but it may also
increase risk of prostate cancer, atherosclerosis, hypertension, and other
conditions that can negatively impact the length of life.
“I
had patients who didn’t die because they had too many pets to try to find homes
for. It’s why women live longer than men with the same health problems.” (Bernie S. Siegel)[i]
[i] Sources used:
·
“3
Reasons Why Women Live Longer Than Men” by Sarah Kaye Santos
· “5 Reasons Women Live
Longer Than Men” By
Hallie Levine
·
“BBC” from Wikipedia
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