Why men die earlier than women

Why men die earlier: Smoking requires different life expectancy of men and women. Gender difference in life expectancy is due to smoking and alcohol.

18/01/2011

Smoking is the main reason for the different average age of men and women. British researchers have found this out in a comprehensive study on gender differences in average life expectancy.

As British researchers report, in up to 60 percent of cases, the difference in cigarette consumption is responsible for the shorter life span of men. The results of earlier studies confirming that women have a better basic health constitution appear to be revised. Like the researchers at the Social and Public Health Sciences Unit in Glasgow, an institution of the Scottish public health system, in the latest issue of the journal „Tobacco Control“ As part of their study, they have evaluated a large body of data collected by the World Health Organization (WHO) from 2003 to 2005. The study focused on the mortality rates of men and women from 30 European countries and the impact that cigarettes and alcohol have on the gender gap in life expectancy, for example.

Women live longer than men
That women on average live longer than men, is well known. For example, the Federal Statistical Office in Germany gives a life expectancy of 77 years and 4 months for a boy born today and 82 years and six months for a girl. The question, however, is: why are there such significant sex differences in life expectancy? Are different life expectancies based on biological causes or are gender-specific behaviors more relevant? The scientists around Gerry McCartney also asked these questions in the context of their study and came to the conclusion that men's life expectancy is shorter than that of women mainly because of higher tobacco and alcohol consumption. For example, heart attack is a typical male disease.

Smoking causes the gender differences in the life expectancy
The British researchers report that, according to the results of their study, 40 to 60 percent of the difference in annual deaths of men and women is due to differences in smoking behavior. In addition, alcohol consumption is responsible for 20 to 30 percent in Eastern Europe and 10 to 20 percent of increased deaths among men in the rest of Europe. In all European countries, more men died than women during the period under investigation, although the extent of variation varied between countries, reports Gerry McCartney and colleagues. The gap between the sexes in Iceland was clearly the lowest and, in Sweden, Greece, Cyprus and the United Kingdom, gender differences in life expectancy were relatively low. However, according to the British researchers, the difference in deaths has been remarkably high in Eastern Europe. Germany was relatively middle-field in the study, with around half of gender differences in cigarettes and about one fifth of alcohol in Germany.

Different life expectancy in Eastern Europe most pronounced
Most pronounced were the gender differences in life expectancy in Ukraine, report Gerry McCartney and colleagues. For every 100,000 inhabitants, 942 more men than women per year died here, whereas in Iceland, for example, only 188 men had died, the British scientists explained in the journal „Tobacco Control“. Smoking is the decisive factor for the gender gap in the deaths. According to the study results of the British researchers, 1,081 men and 586 women per 100,000 inhabitants per year die as a result of tobacco smoking. According to the British researchers, 495 more men than women die as a result of cigarette consumption in Ukraine, with only 97 more men than women in Iceland, for example. Across Europe, 40 to 60 percent of the gender gap in life expectancy can be attributed to smoking, the researchers at the Social and Public Health Sciences Unit report. In addition, alcohol consumption in Ukraine is far more pronounced among men than among women, leading to the death rate of 100,000 inhabitants in 317 men and only 77 women as a result of their alcohol addiction. Overall, according to the British researchers, however, smoking is responsible for twice as many deaths among men as alcohol consumption.

Alcohol consumption and tobacco shorten life
The reasons for the significant impact of tobacco smoking on life expectancy are explained by the British researchers with the increased risk of cancer in the respiratory organs and the risk of other cardiac, vascular and lung diseases. In the case of alcohol, especially liver diseases and oesophageal cancer are decisive for the shortened life expectancy. Based on their study results, researchers are calling for more action from their respective public health agencies to stem the fatal effects of alcohol and cigarette use. In the long run, changing habits in smoking and alcohol consumption could lead to a decline in the gender gap in life expectancy, said Gerry McCartney and colleagues. However, according to the researchers, it can not be ruled out that inaccuracies could have occurred in the study, for example, in diseases that can be caused by smoking and alcohol. In addition, differences in the encryption of data in each country are possible, which would also slightly distort the results. (Fp)

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