Sex differences in mortality as a social indicator

Using a macro-sociological model, this paper argues that the status of women is an important determinant of sex mortality differences. This is done first by examining data from India which is known to have an excessively high level of female mortality. The examination is further extended by a pooled cross-section and time series analysis of the excess of female life expectancy over male life expectancy for 83 countries.     

Sex mortality differences in The United States: The role of cohort smoking patterns

This article demonstrates that over the period 1948-2003, sex differences in mortality in the age range 50-84 widened and then narrowed on a cohort basis rather than on a period basis. The cohort with the maximum excess of male mortality was born shortly after the turn of the century. Three separate data sources suggest that the turnaround in sex mortality differences is consistent with sex differences in cigarette smoking by cohort. An age-period-cohort model reveals a highly significant effect of smoking histories on men's and women's mortality. Combined with recent changes in smoking patterns, the model suggests that sex differences in mortality will narrow dramatically in coming decades.     

Sex differences in remarriage and spouse selection

This paper explores on an international basis the incidence of remarriage among total marriages, the levels and differences in remarriage rates among widowed and divorced males and females, and differences between males and females in spouse selection according to the previous marital statuses of spouse and bride or groom. Remarriage rates by sex and previous marital status are estimated using vital registration data in combination with census information; there are 47 countries that have such data. The results of the analyses indicate that there are a number of general patterns of remarriage and spouse selection that tend to hold across countries.     

Sex differences in patterns of career mobility

Using the 1970 Census data, this paper examines differences by sex in patterns of intragenerational occupational mobility over a five year period (1965–1970) for two cohorts of white, U.S. men and women. The observed mobility patterns are separated into that part due to structural factors (i.e., the different distributions over occupational origins and destinations by sex) and that due to sex-related individual and group characteristics. Most of the observed differences in mobility patterns are found to be the result of occupational sex segregation.     

Sex differences in valuations of the environment?

Sexual selection theory affords a rationale for predicting that men, especially young men, may be more willing than women to risk harms and to discount the future in the pursuit of short-term gains. These propositions apply to many domains of risky behavior, and it is likely that they apply to decisions involving potential harms to the environment and health hazards as well. Two preliminary studies of university subjects' responses to hypothetical dilemmas that support the predicted sex difference are described. Important understudied questions are, to what extent reckless risk acceptance may be mitigated by material wellbeing, by marriage, and by parenthood.     

Sex differences in life cycle measures of widowhood

Using formulas which measure life cycle characteristics of widowhood as a function of life table survivorship and age at marriage, we illustrate changes in patterns of widowhood and widowerhood since 1950, as well as differences by race, by age of bride and of groom, and by age differences between spouses. Although the current inequality in the risks of widowhood and widowerhood for the average couple is mostly due to sex differences in mortality, a one year age difference between spouses has about the same impact as does a one year difference in life expectancy. Calculations based on current distributions of age of groom by age of bride indicate that the older the age of groom, the greater the age difference between spouses and the higher the likelihood of a woman outliving her husband: the typical groom who marries in his fifties faces a 4 to 1 chance that he will be outlived by his spouse.     

The use of mortality time series data to produce hypothetical morbidity distributions and project mortality trends

It is difficult to obtain direct empirical estimates of chronic disease prevalence in the U.S. population. The available estimates are usually derived from epidemiological studies of selected populations. In this paper we present strategies for estimating morbidity distributions in the national population using auxiliary biomedical evidence and theory to estimate transitions to morbidity states from a cohort mortality time series. We present computational methods which employ these estimates of morbid state transitions to produce life table functions for both primary (morbidity) and secondary (mortality) decrements. These methods are illustrated using data on stomach cancer mortality for nine white male cohorts, aged 30 to 70 in 1950, observed for a 28-year period (1950 to 1977).     

Sex differences in attitudes toward homosexuals: a meta-analytic review

Sex differences in attitudes toward homosexuality were examined using Glass's d as an estimator of effect size. There was a small mean effect (d = .207) indicating that males have more negative attitudes than females toward homosexuals. However, this effect was found to decrease in magnitude when sample size was controlled for, with larger studies being less likely to have a sex difference. Year of publication was also found to be related to the effect sizes with more recent studies tending to show a larger effect size. Sex of target is also discussed as a potentially important variable.     

Geographic mobility of scientists: Sex differences and family constraints

Women scientists are much more likely than men scientists to be in two-career marriages. This study examines the argument that the higher prevalence of two-career marriages among women scientists presents a significant impediment to their geographic mobility. Three hypotheses are developed and tested. First. scientists in two-career families are less likely to migrate than scientists in one-career families. Second, the effect of two-career marriages on the probability of migration differs with gender; women are affected more negatively. Third, the effect of children on the probability of migration differs with gender; women are affected more negatively. The empirical work uses a data set of doctoral scientists extracted from the 5% Public Use Microdata Sample from the 1990 census. The first two hypotheses are not confirmed by the empirical results. but we find evidence supporting the third. Family constraints on women scientists’ careers generally appear to be weak. but become acute when they have children.     

Child mortality in Malaysia: explaining ethnic differences and the recent decline

Infant and child mortality rates have dropped sharply for all ethnic groups in Malaysia between 1950 and 1988, but persistent ethnic differences remain. In this article we assess the contribution of several potential reasons both for the decline and the remaining differences between the Malay and Chinese sub-populations. Increased use of health inputs is found to explain a substantial part of the decline, but increased education of mothers, and income growth are also important. Longer spacing between births, and, higher average age at birth as a result of lower fertility and higher age at marriage provide only a marginal direct contribution to the fall in mortality. We find that lower mortality among the Chinese is accounted for by their higher incomes and greater propensty to purchase medical care. We also control for self-selection among users of medical care, and find that those who use health care in Malaysia tend to be subject to higher-than-average risks.     

Social,behavioral, and biological factors,and sex differences in mortality

Few studies have examined whether sex differences in mortality are associated with different distributions of risk factors or result from the unique relationships between risk factors and mortality for men and women. We extend previous research by systematically testing a variety of factors, including health behaviors, social ties, socioeconomic status, and biological indicators of health. We employ the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey III Linked Mortality File and use Cox proportional hazards models to examine sex differences in adult mortality in the United States. Our findings document that social and behavioral characteristics are key factors related to the sex gap in mortality. Once we control for women’s lower levels of marriage, poverty, and exercise, the sex gap in mortality widens; and once we control for women’s greater propensity to visit with friends and relatives, attend religious services, and abstain from smoking, the sex gap in mortality narrows. Biological factors—including indicators of inflammation and cardiovascular risk—also inform sex differences in mortality. Nevertheless, persistent sex differences in mortality remain: compared with women, men have 30% to 83% higher risks of death over the follow-up period, depending on the covariates included in the model. Although the prevalence ofriskfactors differs by sex, the impact of those riskfactors on mortality is similar for men and women.     

Declining sex differences in mortality from lung cancer in high-income nations

After decades of widening, the difference in mortality from lung cancer between men and women has begun to narrow in recent years. Recognizing that the increase in smoking among women relative to men is the proximate cause of the changing sex difference in rates of lung cancer, I analyzed two approaches to identify the more distant sources of the changes. A gender-equality argument suggests that the difference is related to the more general equalization of women's and men's work and family roles, which also encourages the adoption of harmful behaviors such as smoking by women. An alternative explanation suggests that the convergence in mortality from lung cancer among men and women is the byproduct of a lag in the adoption, diffusion, and abatement of smoking by women. Using mortality data on 21 nations from 1955 to 1996, an analysis of logged rates of men's and women's lung cancer mortality and the logged ratio of the rates demonstrated little relationship between the sex difference and gender equality. However, I found a strong and consistent relationship between the sex difference and the stage of diffusion of the use of cigarettes.     

[A biological analysis of sex differences in mortality and in life expectancy].]

Biological determinants of differential mortality by sex are examined. The author suggests that a difference in male sex chromosomes is the main reason for the higher mortality rate and lower life expectancy observed in males and for their susceptibility to some genetic diseases. The production of more male fertilized ova is considered as a natural control to balance the sex ratio.     

Changing mortality and morbidity rates and the health status and life expectancy of the older population

This paper demonstrates the consequences of changes in mortality and health transition rates for changes in both health status life expectancy and the prevalence of health problems in the older population. A five-state multistate life table for the mid-1980s provides the baseline for estimating the effect of differing mortality and morbidity schedules. Results show that improving mortality alone implies increases in both the years and the proportion of dependent life; improving morbidity alone reduces both the years and the proportion of dependent life. Improving mortality alone leads to a higher prevalence of dependent individuals in the life table population; improving morbidity alone leads to a lower percentage of individuals with problems in functioning.     

Discriminating positive and negative aspects of pet interaction: Sex differences in the older population

Although pet interacters from a sample of 250 persons over 50 years of age generally report receiving more intense uplifts than hassles from their pets (Chi Square = 26.7, p<0.001), there are also differences seen within this group. More specifically, differences are seen in regard to relationships between reported hassles and uplifts from pets, and socializing, life situation, and gender. For example, pet interacters who report a great deal of uplift from pets also report doing things with friends more frequently than do interacters who report only slight uplift from pets (t=2.38, p<0.05). Importantly, pets also appear to serve different roles for female and for male pet interacters, and for pet interacters in different circumstances. Uplifts from pets are associated with leisure and lack of psychological pressure for females, but are related to hassles with social interactions, time, and money for males. Contrastingly, females who report hassles from pets report hassles in the areas of free time, money, and health, but uplifts from social interactions. Human interactions with pets frequently contribute to quality of life and these interactions merit further study.     

Mortality differences in Norway. Two biographical data analyses and one question about female mortality differentials

"The aim of this paper is, first, to give an overview of the local history approach developed in adult mortality differentials; secondly, to present its potentiality compared with a more usual approach.... Our methodology was applied to Norwegian data."