It’s a question that spans the generations: Why do men die earlier than women? A new study on mice offers a concrete answer, or at least one more concrete than what’s been offered so far.
Life expectancy for women in the United States in 2021 was 79 years; for men, it was 73 years. This is the largest gap between the two since 1996. The impact of COVID-19 has marginally lowered both.
Historically, men have been the main breadwinners and so it was argued they suffered more “life-shortening” stress. Yet the number of working women now rivals—and even surpasses—the number of working men, so shouldn’t their lifespans also be coming into alignment?…