Women have been outliving men for more than a hundred years. But a recent study found that this gap in life expectancy has been widening for more than a decade. This gap is now 5.8 years. Life expectancy (combined for both men and women) was 78.8 years in 2019 (pre-Covid 19), but was 76.1 years in 2021.
Why is this gap widening? The main reasons for men's life expectancy decreasing are Covid-19 and opioid overdoses. Other reasons are suicide, accidents (unintentional injuries), heart disease, and alcoholic liver disease.
On the other hand, the gap may be shrinking since the development of Covid vaccines and better treatments, as well as widely available overdose treatments (Naloxone).
From Science Daily: US men die 6 years before women, as life expectancy gap widens
We've known for more than a century that women outlive men. But new research led by UC San Francisco and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health shows that, at least in the United States, the gap has been widening for more than a decade. The trend is being driven by the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid overdose epidemic, among other factors. ...continue reading "Life Expectancy Gap Between Men and Women Is Widening"