Why women live longer

Intro

American Man 76yrs, Woman 81yr 

And the woman’s extra years tend to be healthy ones.

World Wide avg is about 3 yrs if born the same day and location.

Women live about 5% longer than men

Including “Deaths of all causes”

In 2015, of 50 oldest people alive, 2 were men

This gender gap in life expectancy is true for all societies, and it is also true for the great apes, chimpanzees, orangutans.

One early thought was that men worked more physical jobs throughout their lives. 

But if that were so, the gender life expectancy would be getting more narrow, it’s not

Early life

“Early advantage” More males are born; 105 to every 100 girls

7% higher fetal death of males

Increases to 21% more than females by first birthday

Pattern continues, by 65yrs old there are only 75 men for every 100 women

Men vs Women General

Men are larger

Larger bodies use more energy, which causes more wear and tear

Taller people have more cells that turn over and greater chances for mutations

Eating 1600kcal will have you live longer than 2000

More Stubborn with avoiding health care for routine checkups and health concerns

And less compliant to treatment

Men have more visceral fat whereas women have more subcutaneous fat

Testosterone Vs Estrogens

More visceral fat increases cardiovascular disease risk

 

Risky behavior-

Valid, but not the largest factor in life expectancy difference

Increased habits of smoking, drinking, and over eating

More so in some countries than others

Russian men die 13 years on average prior to women

Risky/Avoidable Early Death

Men more likely all deaths from all causes in all age groups-accidents, suicide, malignant neoplasms, diseases of the circulatory system, homicide, and chronic liver disease and cirrhosis

 except automobile accidents - as driver

Possible reasons

In general women drive less

They are shorter and can make it harder to see, especially at intersections

Men `10x more likely to die at work- riskier jobs and take larger risks when on job site

Women have always gotten sick more, even after accounting for how they care more about being medically checked on

Theory- women get more infections to build antibodies for offspring for a better immune system

 

Hormones

Estrogens

“Jogging female heart” hypothesis –

Women’s heart rate increases during 2nd half of menstrual cycle

Offers the same benefits as mild/moderate exercise

Sex hormone Oestrogen is a strong antioxidant

Estrogens have been found to prevent DNA damage and aid longevity

Men can benefit from it though too

Testosterone

Korean scientist noticed Eunuchs lived for 70yrs on average

Average male was 50yrs

130x more likely to see their 100th birthday

Same finding for psychiatric patients “treated” by castration

But only if done so before the age of 15

Testosterone protects our cardiovascular system early in life, and increases risk when older 

Hypertension, CVD, atherosclerosis, etc

 

Chromosomes

 Chromosomes come in pairs, and whereas women have two X chromosomes, men have an X and a Y chromosome.

May slightly alter the way cells age

Women having an extra copy of every gene is a “spare” if the other goes faulty/mutated

 Men don’t have that back-up. The result is that more cells may begin to malfunction with time, putting men at greater risk of disease.

Thousands of cell cycles later could make a difference

 

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