Which is the weaker sex? : A study of the differential mortality of males and females in Australia
Date
1978
Authors
Lopez, Alan Donald
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Abstract
During the course of the 20th century, mortality patterns in the
developed countries have been characterized by a persistent widening of
the gap in survival between the sexes. From a female advantage in longevity
at birth of about two to three years around the turn of the century, the
sex differential in many countries has increased to the point where females
now enjoy an expected lifespan of six to seven years more than that of
males. This thesis has been an investigation of the widening sex mortality
differential in Australia, with some historical reference to mortality
patterns during the colonial period. Almost one-half of this trend can be
accounted for by differential mortality changes for the sexes at ages 65
years and over, with a significant contribution from mortality differentials
at ages 15-64 years as well. Conversely, declines in mortality during
infancy and early childhood worked to the relative benefit of males. At
the older ages at least, much of the male disadvantage has arisen due to
their excess mortality from coronary heart disease, malignant neoplasms of
the lung, and the obstructive airways diseases, bronchitis, emphysema, and
asthma. For younger males, especially those aged 15-24 years, motor
vehicle accident mortality has been the leading determinant. A review of
international sex mortality differences confirmed that this was largely
consistent with the experience of other Western nations. Moreover, the
gap in survival between the sexes in Australia currently ranks among the
highest in the world, although there is now some evidence of a stabilization
of the sex mortality pattern during the 1970s. Biological differences have
probably been of minor importance in this change. Rather, a review of the evidence strongly suggests that differential lifestyles between the
sexes were of far greater significance. It would appear that much of
the excess male mortality from the major degenerative diseases implicated
in this trend lias been due to their excess cigarette consumption, while
alcohol abuse has undoubtedly played a major role in the higher death
rate of youths from traffic crashes.
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