Why do women live longer than men

The average life expectancy of people varies significantly depending on which country they live in. The more developed the economy and medicine in the country, the greater the chances for its citizens to live to a very old age. But here's what surprises: regardless of socio-economic development, the average man in any country in the world lives a few years less than a woman. What could be connected with this strange fact?

If we look at the life expectancy of the population in different countries, we can easily notice one pattern. Everywhere, from Sierra Leone and Angola to Singapore and Switzerland, we see the same thing: the life expectancy of women is higher than men.

Scientists have been struggling for several decades to resolve this issue, but so far no one can give a definite answer. There are a large number of reasons, both physiological and social, that can affect such a difference in life expectancy of different sexes. Let us dwell on the most probable of them.

Physiological reasons

The immune system of men and women is structured differently. For example, it was found that representatives of the strong half of humanity are more susceptible to the effects of infections. Men are more likely than women to suffer from fungal, bacterial and viral infections, while they are much worse tolerated. In addition, men are more prone to complications after illness. All this undermines health, and can affect life expectancy.

The woman’s body, on the contrary, has a more stable immune system, which, according to scientists, is associated with the reproductive function of women and the need to protect the body during pregnancy.

Another difference between men and women is associated with overall survival rates at the stage of embryonic development and in infancy. Men in this regard are also significantly inferior to women. Most likely, the fact that girls have a much greater chance of survival compared with boys at birth, as well as in the first year of life, is also associated with this. Scientists note higher rates of miscarriages with male fetuses, compared with women. And the difference in infant mortality rates reaches 25%.

Social reasons

According to statistics, the mortality of children under 5 years of age is 30% higher for boys than for girls. The reason can all lie in the same weak immunity, and also this is due to the great mobility and activity of the boys. But in adolescence, the mortality of the male population is almost 50% higher than that of the female. Sociologists attribute this to the fact that young men are more susceptible to the influence of bad habits and are more likely to end up in life-threatening situations, which, in turn, also shortens life expectancy.

Psycho-emotional reasons

As you know, women are more impulsive and emotional. Along with tearfulness and hot temper, this also has a number of positive aspects. Psychologists believe that a regular outburst of emotions contributes to the rapid release of stress, which favorably affects the health of the female body as a whole. Men, on the contrary, tend to restrain themselves, not to give free rein to emotions, thereby contributing to the development of cardiovascular and other diseases.