Researchers report estimates of life expectancy for men and women under extreme conditions. Life expectancy for women currently exceeds that for men nearly worldwide. Whether this gender gap persists under conditions of extremely high mortality risk remains unclear. Virginia Zarulli, James Vaupel, and colleagues analyzed mortality data for seven historic populations in which life expectancy for at least one of the sexes was 20 years or less. The populations include slaves in Trinidad and freed American slaves in Liberia in the early 19th century, the populations of Sweden, Ireland, and the Ukraine during famines in 1772-1773, 1845-1849, and 1933, respectively, and the Icelandic population during the 1846 and 1882 measles epidemics. Life expectancy for women exceeded that for men in all populations by 0.5-3.7 years, with the possible exception of Trinidadian slaves. Women were more likely than men to survive to a given age, except in Trinidad, where male survival was greater early in life. In all populations, most of the difference in life expectancy between men and women was due to large sex differences in infant mortality. The results suggest that women's survival advantage over men has a biological basis, but is modulated by social and environmental factors, according to the authors.
Article #17-01535 "Women live longer than men even during severe famines and epidemics," by Virginia Zarulli et al.
MEDIA CONTACT: Virginia Zarulli, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, DENMARK; tel: +45-6550-4087, +45-2036-7210; e-mail: <vzarulli@health.sdu.dk>
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