Why do Women Live Longer than Men?
It was reported that the research conducted on people who lived for 100 years in Harvard University has revealed that ‘menopause’ is the cause for difference in life spans of males and females. According to the geriatrician, Thomas Perls at Harvard University, there are two reasons for the extension in the lifespan of females compared to that of males. The transfer of genes from one generation to the next in the evolution is one and the necessity to give birth to a child is another. As the woman has to remain healthy to give birth to as many children as possible before menopause, woman has to be healthy for long time.
Menopause is a line that separates the life of women into two parts. It prevents the aged women not to bear the child as it is risky for them. The menopause gives strength and life to the woman to take care of her children and grand children. Men according to Perls will only carry the genes and transfer them to the next generation.
In most of the countries, it was surveyed that women lived longer than men. In United States, the average life span of women was 79 years while that of men was 72 years. This gap in gender is mostly seen in those who lived more than 100 years. Females have two X-chromosomes as sex chromosomes while males have 1 X-chromosome and 1 Y-chromosome. The genes that are present on the Y-chromosome in male might undergo alterations which might be the result of illness. As the genes will get expressed whether they are recessive or dominant due to only one allele, men are susceptible to illness very early than females. It is reported that females will be prone to heart attacks 10 years later than males. The X-chromosome saves the presence of any gene that code for illness, if it is recessive by the dominant allele of it present in another X-chromosome. So, women will be less prone to diseases or illnesses. This might also be a reason for the reduced life span of males over females.
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