Why Is the Sex Difference in Mortality Increasing?

Abstract

The death rate for women is declining much faster than the rate for men. This is true for every age group. This indicates that "something" other than a basic biological difference between the sexes accounts for the more rapid decline of the female death rate. It is suggested that men are in some way, consciously or unconsciously, adding to their native handicap in the struggle for existence and that something can and ought to be done to reduce mortality among men. The medical and public health professions should be made more alert to the greater hazards faced by men.