Gender Death Gap Narrowing

Submitted by Scott on Fri, 2002-04-12 04:50

I received this information from the Men's Health America list: "In 1920, the lifespan gender gap was only 1 year. Over the next several
decades, the gap steadily widened, and reached a 7.8 year disparity in
1975. Then, the gap begin to shrink. Now, according to a recent report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS), the gap has narrowed to 5.5 years. On average, American women live 79.4 years, while men live 73.9 years. The greatest disparity affects Black males, who only live 67.8 years. The NCHS explains the improvement in male life expectancy by reductions in male deaths from heart disease, stroke, cancer, suicide, and homicide. The first three causes of death are closely linked to cigarette smoking patterns. Despite these improvements, men still have a long way to go until they achieve gender equity in healthcare services, research, and health status."Source: National Center for Health Statistics: United States Life
Tables, 1999. National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 50, No. 6, March
21, 2002.

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