New data from the US National Centre for Health Statistics (NCHS) has revealed the life expectancy gap between American men and women has widened significantly since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 to an average 5.8 years.
That’s a 21% increase from a low of 4.8 years in 2010 – and now marks the biggest gap since 1996.
The analysis, published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, found the COVID-19 pandemic also caused overall life expectancy to fall by 2.5 years on average since 2021.
Study co-author Dr Brandon Yan at the University of California told medicalnewstoday.com that while this drop was expected, his team was surprised by the disparity between men and women.
He noted the life expectancy gap grew for much of the 20th century, primarily due to the fact men were more likely to be smokers; this time around, however, the explanation isn’t as straightforward.
‘The cause of the widening disparity is multi-factorial, which is to say we are dealing with multiple epidemics at once – COVID-19, drug overdose and mental illness,’ he explained.
California physician Dr David Cutler (not involved in the study) commented: ‘While biological factors like oestrogen, the female immune system and other genetic factors cannot be easily adapted by men, many of the behavioural differences could add years to the lives of men.’
He noted men, in general, are more likely to engage in risky behaviours such as smoking, excessive drinking and participating in dangerous sports or occupations – and men are also less likely to seek medical intervention.
In contrast, women ‘are generally more likely to engage in health- seeking behaviours,’ Cutler explained. ‘They often visit healthcare professionals regularly, adhere to medical advice, and participate in preventive healthcare measures. This proactive approach to health may contribute to early detection of diseases and better management of health conditions to avoid premature illness and death.’
A major factor in the widening life expectancy gap since the pandemic is simply that men were more likely to die from COVID-19.
Dr Cutler observed: ‘It is unclear the extent to which this was due to immunologic differences, vaccination rates, mask wearing, environmental exposure or underlying medical conditions. But certainly, taking additional measures to avoid COVID infection and serious illness would narrow the gap.’
