It is an age long question that has been answered in many ways, sometimes ridiculously. Why do women live longer than men? Or, why is men cursed with early death? In Africa, and most especially here in Nigeria, the reason alluded to early death of men is witchcraft and the selfish quest of the women to inherit the properties of their husbands. Is this true?
Women live longer than men primarily because of modern lifestyle factors, rather than any biological difference, a new study has found.
Statistically, women are less prone to heart disease, stress, overeating and smoking-related illnesses—which are the leading causes of death—due to making healthier lifestyles choices.
The study was conducted by a team of University of Southern California (USC) Leonard Davis School of Gerontology researchers including Hiram Beltran-Sanchez, Caleb E. Finch, Ph.D., and Eileen M. Crimmins, Ph.D.
The researchers compiled data from more than 1,700 birth cohorts across a 135-year-period from 1800 to 1935. The study looked at 13 developed countries, including England, France, Italy and Spain. Interestingly, significant differences in life expectancies between women and men didn’t emerge until the 20th century.
Overall, the study found that mortality rates for both men and women decreased during the 19th and 20th century, but women began reaping the longevity benefits of lifestyle factors at a much faster rate as the 20th century progressed.
Women currently live longer than men in every country of the world. According to UN data from 2013, the average life expectancy for women globally was almost 4.5 years longer with an average life expectancy of 71 years compared to 66.5 years for men.
Heart disease was identified as the leading factor in the disproportionate adult male mortality of the 20th century. The study reports that among people born between 1880 and 1919, heart disease and stroke accounted for more than 40% of the increase in the male to female mortality ratio at ages 55-80.
The team found that for individuals born after 1880, female death rates decreased 70 percent faster than those of males for people over age 40. After controlling for smoking-related illnesses, cardiovascular disease was still the leading cause of the vast majority of excess deaths in adult men.
The DNA factor-starting with the bundles of DNA known as chromosomes within each cell. Chromosomes come in pairs, and whereas women have two X chromosomes, men have an X and a Y chromosome.
That difference may subtly alter the way that cells age. Having two X chromosomes, women keep double copies of every gene, meaning they have a spare if one is faulty. 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.
Among the other alternatives is the “jogging female heart” hypothesis – the idea that a woman’s heart rate increases during the second half of the menstrual cycle, offering the same benefits as moderate exercise. The result is delayed risk of cardiovascular disease later in life. Or it could also be a simple matter of size. Taller people have more cells in their bodies, meaning they are more likely to develop harmful mutations; bigger bodies also burn more energy, which could add to wear and tear within the tissues themselves. Since men tend to be taller than women, they should therefore face more long-term damage.
The Eunuchs-Korean scientist Han-Nam Park recently analyzed the detailed records of court life from the 19th Century, including information about 81 eunuchs whose testicles had been removed before puberty. His analyses revealed that the eunuchs lived for around 70 years – compared to an average of just 50 years among the other men in the court. Overall, they were 130 times more likely to celebrate their hundredth birthday than the average man living in Korea at the time. Even the kings – who were the most pampered people in the palace – did not come close. Overall it seems that people (and animals) without testicles do live longer.
The Hormone- Women also benefit from their own “elixir of youth” that helps heal some of the ravages of time. The female sex hormone oestrogen is an “antioxidant”, meaning that it mops up poisonous chemicals that cause cells stress. In animal experiments, females lacking oestrogen tend not to live so long as those who have not been operated on – the exact opposite of the male eunuch’s fate. “If you remove a rodents’ ovaries, then the cells don’t repair against molecular damage quite as well,” says Tom Kirkwood, who studies the biological basis for ageing at Newcastle University in the UK.
During mating, women would be more likely to go for alpha males, pumped up on testosterone. But once the children are born, the men are more disposable, says Kirkwood. “The welfare of offspring is intimately connected with welfare of the maternal body. The bottom line is that it matters more for the children that the mother’s body should be in good shape, rather than the father’s.”
All these researches in itself might not be conclusive, perhaps, God or should i say human nature simply gave women a little more years over men. But one thing is certain, the analogy that women live longer through witchcraft to inherit their husbands’ properties is baseless.
