Why women live longer than men?

Washington: Explaining why women live longer than men across the world, vulnerability to heart disease is the biggest culprit behind a surge in higher death rates for men during the 20th century, says a study. According to the team led by University of Southern California, as infectious disease prevention, improved diets and other positive health behaviours were adopted by people born during the 1800s and early 1900s, death rates plummeted but women began reaping the longevity benefits at a much faster rate.

For the study, the team examined the lifespan of people born between 1800 and 1935 in 13 developed nations. Focusing on mortality in adults over the age of 40, the team found that in individuals born after 1880, female death rates decreased 70 percent faster than those of males.

Even when the researchers controlled for smoking-related illnesses, cardiovascular disease appeared to still be the cause of the vast majority of excess deaths in adult men over 40 for the same time period.