Men die at a higher rate than women do, due to nearly every disease — and scientists don’t know why this is the case. While issues such as hormone replacement therapy, breast cancer, and obesity get a lot of national attention, the glaring “health disparity” between the sexes isn’t discussed much in the public arena. Yet the gap persists: women are expected to live, on average, five years longer than men.
Some experts say that men may be suffering a serious health crisis. While most chalk the healthy disparity up to more unhealthy lifestyles, many doctors are wondering if there is something biological going on that leads to earlier male deaths. This has sparked some interest, as five states are going to unveil offices devoted to men’s health. Also, a November issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) was devoted entirely to studies looking into this biological possibility.
By just about any measure, men’s health is at a distant second place in comparison to women’s health. In the U.S., a male’s life expectancy is 75.2 years (for black men it’s a staggering 69.8 years). For women it’s an impressive 80.4 years. For almost all leading causes of death, men die younger than women do, such as lung cancer, pneumonia, liver disease, influenza, AIDS, diabetes, and heart disease.
It’s not just mortality either; illnesses also simply tip toward the men in America. Males are far more liable to develop heart disease in their 30s and 40s, for example, and face a great risk of developing any cancer. Cancer strikes one in three women, and one in two men.
Amazingly, even male fetuses are at greater risk of miscarriage or stillbirth. Infant deaths are also more common in boys. Experts know this to be, for whatever reason, the weaker sex health-wise: boys’ immune systems are weaker, more boys are colorblind, more suffer from hearing loss, and they recover more slowly from illnesses. Fast forward to late in life and the disparity continues: older adults commonly endure hip fractures, but women are more likely than men to recover from them.
Could it be behavioral differences that are causing this gap between the sexes? Men tend to be more aggressive, take more risks, smoke more, drink more alcohol, and are more likely to forget to put on sunscreen. Also, a recent survey found that males are more reluctant to visit the doctor, with 40% saying they delay getting care for a few days at least. In the case of a stroke or heart attack, whose symptoms can seem minor, that disparity in time can result in tremendous damage.
Is the answer rooted in biology? What makes male fetuses more prone to mortality? Why is a male born with less mature lung functioning than a female? As scientists grapple with answers, the facts remain clear: women outnumber men in all adult age groups and among those who celebrate their 100th birthday, women outnumber men eight to one.
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Tags: Breast Cancer, cancer risk, obesity
