Women living 6 years longer than men in US - highest point in nearly 30 years
The gender gap in life expectancy in the US has just reached its largest point in nearly three decades, a study has revealed.
University of California scientists found women are living on average 5.8 years longer than men, just 0.2 years short of the historical record of 6 years. The most significant factor behind the increase was the Covid pandemic - which disproportionately affected men.
This was followed by what the team have dubbed the “deaths of despair”, with unintentional injuries and drug overdoses, accidents and suicide making up the next more important factors. They are known as such because they are associated with economic hardship, depression and stress.
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The study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, concluded: “'Differentially worsening mortality from diabetes, heart disease, homicide, and suicide suggest that chronic metabolic disease and mental illness may also contribute. The increase in overdose deaths, homicide, and suicide underscore twin crises of deaths from despair and firearm violence.”
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Mortality rates changed significantly between 2010-2021 (The University of California)But the gap is also down to improved medical care for women. This includes improvements on conditions such as cancer and perinatal problems - which have been on the decline in the US among women, MailOnline reported.
Using data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the team aimed to reveal any changes in the life expectancy gap from 2010 to 2021 - dividing the years by pre– and post– Covid. “There's been a lot of research into the decline in life expectancy in recent years, but no one has systematically analysed why the gap between men and women has been widening since 2010,” first author Brandon Yan said. In 2010 data showed the life expectancy difference at just 4.8 years.
There has also been a shift in the causes of death, with factors connected to economic hardships, depression and stress now far more common. In a 1998 report for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a list of 15 significant causes of death included heart disease, cancer and cerebrovascular disease at the top.
A 1998 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows 15 significant causes of death (CDC)At the time, suicide ranked ninth and unintentional injuries, poisoning and accidents weren’t listed among the reasons. “While rates of death from drug overdose and homicide have climbed for both men and women, it is clear that men constitute an increasingly disproportionate share of these deaths,” Yan said.
The difference in death toll due to Covid was also stark, with a report by the US Census Bureau finding that male deaths increased by 296,061 (20.1 percent) and female deaths by 232,830 (16.9 percent) between 2019 and 2020.
“The trend continued in 2021, with 68,208 (3.9 percent) more male deaths and 12,298 (0.8 percent) more female deaths,” the report says. “The growing difference in deaths between males and females in 2020 and 2021 suggests the COVID-19 pandemic had a larger impact on the mortality of males than it did on females.”
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