Among humans, women's life span is almost 8% on average longer than men's life span. But among wild mammals, females in 60% of the studied species have, on average, 18.6% longer lifespans. The ratio is considerably different for different groups of mammals.
Biological differences also help to explain women's higher longevity. Scientists believe that estrogen in women combats conditions such as heart disease by helping reduce circulatory levels of harmful cholesterol. Women are also thought to have stronger immune systems than men.
Scientists may have found the answer. "Particularly past age 60, men die more rapidly than women. It's as if they biologically age more quickly," the professor behind the new study says. Scientists have uncovered fresh clues that could explain why men typically don't live as long as women.
Regardless of age, men have a higher density of collagen within their skin than women. This is why women appear to age faster than men of the same age. It's even been said that women are visually about 15 years older than men of the same age in terms of collagen maintenance.
Women on average report more pain when compared to men, and there seem to be more painful conditions where women exhibit a greater prevalence than where men do. Sex differences in pain vary according to age, with many differences occurring during the reproductive years.
An example of research that found no sex differences is the longest-running study of longevity, which has been going on since 1912 (discussed here). Results show that the people who lived the longest were those who stayed single and those who stayed married.
Married men and married women live, on average, two years longer than their unmarried counterparts. One reason for this longevity benefit is the influence of marital partners on healthy behaviors. Study after study shows that married people eat better and are less likely to smoke and drink excessively.
Men die younger than women in the United States, on average. American women had a life expectancy of 79 years in 2021, compared with men's, which was only about 73, according to CDC data.
U.S. life expectancy at birth
On average, a person living in the U.S. can expect to live to 76.1 years. Asian people have the longest average life expectancy (83.5 years) and American Indian/Alaska Natives the shortest (65.2 years).
For 95-year-olds, the average life expectancy was 3.34 years during that period. For 100-year-olds, the average life expectancy was 2.73 years.
RESULTS. Men aged 92 to 93 had an overall 6.0% chance of surviving to 100 years, whereas the chance for women was 11.4%. Being able to rise without use of hands increased the chance for men to 11.2% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 7.7–14.7) and for women to 22.0% (95% CI = 18.9–25.1).
Men are happier when they're married.
You could jump to two different conclusions based on those numbers: Women are unhappier in their marriages than men are. The unhappiness might be on par, but women are far less likely to put up with it.
New research suggests single individuals are, in general, satisfied with both singlehood and life. People with lower singlehood satisfaction are more likely to be men, older, more educated, or in worse health.
A 2014 Pew Report estimated that by the time today's young adults reach the age of about 50, about 25% will have been single all their lives. Of course, some could still marry after the age of 50, but those numbers are likely to be small.
In fact, nearly 70 percent of divorces are initiated by women. This is according to a 2015 research study conducted by the American Sociological Association (ASA) which suggests two-thirds of all divorces are initiated by women.
Killer #1: Over Familiarity
It starts off very small and subtle, and grows unnoticed. However it is easy to identify by analyzing how you treat each other in your marriage. This killer alone can lead a couple to divorce and often does. Over familiarity means taking each other for granted.
Research suggests that married people in particular, but also those involved in healthy social relationships, typically live longer. The benefits of these relationships can even lower your risk of having a heart attack, developing certain types of cancer, and becoming infected with pneumonia.
In one large study from the Brookings Institute, for example, scientists found happiness was high for 18- to 21-year-olds and then dropped steadily until about age 40. But past middle age, the pattern began to reverse—gradually climbing back up to its highest point at age 98!
Long-term loneliness also has negative physical health implications, such as cardiovascular disease. Single men are also more likely to be depressed than married men.
Men often tend to be a bit more detached than women. In other cases, men enjoy the emotional high of dates even if they don't want to get into a relationship. In both cases, men who prefer being single have time to advance their agendas, explore their artistic sides, or just indulge their wanderlust.
It comes down to basic biology and evolutionary development, according to biological anthropologist Helen Fisher. "Men are more romantic," Fisher said during an episode of Neil deGrasse Tyson's StarTalk Radio. "They fall in love faster because they're so visual.
As of 2022, Pew Research Center found, 30 percent of U.S. adults are neither married, living with a partner nor engaged in a committed relationship. Nearly half of all young adults are single: 34 percent of women, and a whopping 63 percent of men.
Couples with an age gap of 1 to 3 years (with the man older than the woman) were the most common and had the greatest levels of satisfaction. Relationship satisfaction decreased slightly for couples with age gaps of 4 to 6 years and continued to decrease for couples with an age gap of 7 or more years.
This puts the male citizens of the US in 45th place in this ranking. On average, US women are 5.7 years older, reaching an age of 80.2. The world average age of death is a few years lower at 69.8 years for men and 74.9 years for women. Within the European Union, these are 77.8 and 83.3 years respectively.