The difference in life expectancy between men and women in the US has grown to its widest point in nearly 25 years, with females slated to live nearly 6 years longer on average in 2021, according to CDC data.
The CDC’s latest Vital Statistics Report revealed that overall life expectancy — in large part due to Covid-19 deaths — had fallen to 76.4 years, down from 78.8 only 2 years prior, concurrent with a 2.8-year decrease in life expectancy at birth for males, to just 73.5 years.
On the basis of sex
Since modern record-keeping began, women have consistently lived longer than men, a phenomenon observed around the world that has been linked to genetics, as well as social and economic factors, with everything from hormones to risk-seeking behavior posited as an explanation for the persistent gap.
But, in the US specifically, the gap between the sexes had been narrowing after peaking at 7.8 years in the 1970s. A new study published on Monday puts the more recent widening down to a rise in unintentional injuries (mostly drug overdoses), accidents, suicides, and the pandemic, which disproportionately affected men.
