Study finds men are more vulnerable to heart disease

Jul 7, 2015 08:32 GMT  ·  By

In a new paper in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a team of researchers propose a new explanation for why it is that, at least in this day and age, most men die younger than women. 

The team, led by University of Southern California specialists, argues that the reason men usually have shorter lifespans than women is that they have weaker hearts. Specifically, evidence indicates that they are more vulnerable to cardiovascular disease.

A fresh perspective on life expectancy

Starting in the 1800s and all throughout the early 1900s, a drop in mortality was documented on a global scale, all thanks to people improving their diet and embracing a healthier lifestyle. The thing is that, much to the surprise of medical experts, it was women who chiefly accounted for this shift.

Hoping to gain a better understanding of this gender gap in life expectancy, the University of Southern California researchers and their colleagues compiled and analyzed data concerning mortality rates between the years 1800 and 1935 across 13 developed countries.

The specialists found that, following 1880, death rates began to decline much faster among women than among men. Ultimately, this phenomenon translated into the significant gender gap in life expectancy documented nowadays, Phys Org explains.

The team also looked at why it was that men started dying younger than women did, and zoomed in on cardiovascular disease as the chief culprit. Thus, they found that heart disease and stroke accounted for over 40% of the increase in male mortality rates reported between the years 1880 and 1919.

Why are men more vulnerable to heart disease?

Well, as it turns out, scientists are very much clueless about why men appear to be more vulnerable to heart disease and, therefore, have shorter lifespans. It might be down to genetics and biology, but odds are that lifestyle choices also have a say in the matter. Future investigations should solve this puzzle.

“Further study could include analysis of diet and exercise activity differences between countries, deeper examination of genetics and biological vulnerability between sexes at the cell level, and the relationship of these findings to brain health at later ages,” said specialist Eileen Crimmins.