Risk of death for men 60% higher than for women

Men, 50, and older have a 60% higher risk of dying than women, a study conducted in 28 countries of the world and published in the journal CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) reported.

According to Eurekalert.org, this difference is partly due to the higher prevalence of smoking and heart disease among men.

"Many studies have examined the potential impact of social, behavioural and biological factors on sex differences in mortality, but few have been able to investigate potential variation across countries," writes Dr. Yu-Tzu Wu, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, and Population Health Sciences Institute, Newcastle University, United Kingdom, with coauthors. "Different cultural traditions, historical contexts, and economic and societal development may influence gender experiences in different countries, and thus variably affect the health status of men and women."

The study authors examined various socioeconomic factors (education, well-being), lifestyle (smoking, drinking), health (heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and depression) and social (spouse, living alone) factors that can contribute to the gap in mortality between men and women.

The results are consistent with the literature on life expectancy and mortality.

"The heterogeneity of sex differences in mortality across countries may indicate the substantial impact of gender on healthy aging in addition to biological sex, and the crucial contributions of smoking may also vary across different populations," the authors write.