- An analysis of data shows that the life expectancy gap between men and women has widened to nearly 6 years, from a low of 4.8 years in 2010.
- Researchers said the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the gap and also caused overall life expectancy to fall by 2.5 years.
- A number of factors are also likely contributors, including socioeconomic status, risky behaviors, and the fact that men are more likely to die from COVID-19.
- Researchers pointed to crises such as overdose deaths, homicide, and suicide as causes for concern.
It’s common knowledge that women tend to live longer than men, but according to new data from the
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For comparison, the gap reached a low of 4.8 years in 2010.
Experts interviewed by Medical News Today say that while the pandemic may have exacerbated the life expectancy gap, there are many other reasons why women typically live longer than men.
The widening age gap is just one demographic trend affected by the pandemic.
The study authors also noted that overall life expectancy has fallen by more 2 years on average since 2021.
“We expected to see life expectancy worsen due to the opioid epidemic because life expectancy had previously fallen in the U.S. for this reason from 2015 to 2017,” said Dr. Brandon Yan, a study author and resident physician at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine and a research collaborator at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. “But then overall life expectancy started to improve again in 2018 and 2019.”
The COVID-19 pandemic struck immediately after this rise in life expectancy, which predictably caused life expectancy to lower once again.
Yan told Medical…
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