JAMA Internal Medicine
U.S. men die nearly six years earlier than women
This cross-sectional study found that between 2019 and 2021, the life expectancy in the U.S. dropped from approximately 79 to 76 years. But the life-expectancy gap between women and men widened to 5.8 years, its largest since 1996 and an increase from a low of 4.8 years in 2010.
- In 2021, women had a life expectancy of 79.3 years vs. 73.5 years for men.
- Overall life expectancy at birth in the U.S. decreased for the second consecutive year, from 78.8 years (2019) to 77.0 years (2020) and 76.1 years (2021).
- For more than a century, U.S. women have outlived U.S. men, attributable to lower CV and lung cancer death rates related largely to differences in smoking behavior.
- In this study, researchers systematically examined the impact of COVID-19 and other underlying causes of death to the widened gender life expectancy gap from 2010 to 2021.
- From 2019 to 2021, COVID-19 was the primary contributor to the widening gap in life expectancy between men and women, contributing nearly 40% of the difference in years lost.
- Unintentional injuries—mostly drug overdoses—accounted for more than 30% of the life expectancy gap between men and women.
- U.S. life expectancy lags behind other countries such as Japan, Korea, Portugal, the U.K., and Italy, all of which have a life expectancy of 80 years or more.
Source:
Yan BW, et al. (2023, November 13). JAMA Intern Med. Research Letter. Widening Gender Gap in Life Expectancy in the US, 2010-2021. https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/article-abstract/2811338