For the same reasons that women live longer: less booze and bravado, and different biology
. Men older than 30 have a significantly greater mortality risk. That is striking, but perhaps should not come as a surprise. Human lifespans have climbed steadily in recent decades, but wide disparities remain between women and men . Globally women live nearly five years longer than men, up from three years in 1950. The reasons for that gap are both biological and environmental, and help to explain why more men are dying from covid-19.
Aggressive and risky behaviour also plays a role. Men are more likely to die violently, in car crashes or in other accidents. In El Salvador, one of the few countries where the life-expectancy gap between the genders has increased since 2000, gang violence is partly to blame. Men are also less likely to seek medical help than women. This may explain the large disparities in countries with high rates of HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, such as Eswatini, Mozambique and Namibia.
Yet there are biological differences between the sexes, too. Women have stronger immune systems, thanks in part to oestrogen, a hormone that stimulates the body’s defence response. Double copies of X chromosomes also protect women from genetic mutations and are responsible for immune-related genes.
Men should not take these factors as a death sentence. They can improve their chances of beating covid-19, and extend their expected lifespans, by living more healthily, taking fewer risks and seeking medical care. But women will probably continue to outlive men—and to survive covid-19 in greater numbers.
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