ABSTRACT

Sex differences in longevity have existed throughout the 20th century, but their size has varied. The average length of life for women and men during each decade of the 20th century is shown in Table 10.2 . In 1900, the average man lived to be 46 and the average woman 48; the sex difference in mortality was only two years. Life spans lengthened for both men and women over the course of the century due to better nutrition, better health care, and the development of vaccines. The sex difference in longevity widened during the middle of the century, peaking in 1979, when women outlived men by nearly 7.8 years. The increased sex difference was due to the reduction in women’s mortality during childbirth and the increase in men’s mortality from heart disease and lung cancer. The increase in men’s lung cancer can be directly tied to smoking.