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From: elt@astrovax.UUCP (Ed Turner)
Newsgroups: net.women
Subject: Re: Life Expectancy
Message-ID: <599@astrovax.UUCP>
Date: Mon, 20-May-85 10:25:30 EDT
Article-I.D.: astrovax.599
Posted: Mon May 20 10:25:30 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 21-May-85 06:49:15 EDT
References: <591@astrovax.UUCP> <2395@mit-hermes.ARPA>
Distribution: net
Organization: Princeton Univ. Astrophysics
Lines: 29

> > The death rate
>> for females is substantially less than that for males at all ages from birth
> > up to somewhere in the eighties.  This seems to be true in most if not all
> > cultures as well.
> 
> OK, but what are the stats for men who avoid the behavioral factors, and are 
> thus only affected by the biological ones? Men kill themselves by:
> 
> Drinking to excess
> Smoking tobacco (but women are catching up!)
> Use of drugs
> Getting in fights
> Getting in wars (except WW3 will kill us all)
> Working in dangerous occupations
> Macho driving
> Dangerous sports, and taking extra risks in them
> Working too hard
> Suicide (many more men than women kill themselves)
> Having anything to do with firearms

All true and this may account for most of the effect during a person's "prime
of life" when other innate health problems are minimal.  However, it is far
from a complete explanation.  For example, the death rate for infants
between birth and age one year is nearly twice as great for males as for
females and this is (statistically) the most dangerous year until one
reaches a substantial age (Iforget exactly).

Ed Turner
astrovax!elt