Around the world, women can expect to live longer than men. Why? And was this always the case?
According to a new study, significant differences in life expectancy between the sexes first emerged as recently as the turn of the 20th century.
As infectious disease prevention, improved diets, and other positive health behaviors were adopted by people born during the 1800s and early 1900s, death rates plummeted, but women began reaping the longevity benefits at a much faster rate.
In the wake of this massive but uneven decrease in mortality, a review of global data points to heart disease as the culprit behind most of the excess deaths documented in adult men, says Eileen Crimmins, professor of gerontology at the University of Southern California School of Gerontology.
“We were surprised at how the divergence in mortality between men and women, which originated as early as 1870, was concentrated in the 50-to-70 age range and faded out sharply after age 80,” Crimmins said.
The study examines the life spans of people born between 1800 and 1935 in 13 developed nations.
