6 ms·

That 5 years difference between men and women keeps being biologically weird

by Fire-Dragon-DoL 9mo ago

lotsofpulp 9mo ago
Why? They have vastly different biologies.
- lostlogin 9mo ago
  That’s not the only reason. Men are treated differently to women in healthcare. There is no shortage of data on this. Here is one example: https://www.healthdata.org/news-events/newsroom/news-releases/lancet-public-health-global-study-reveals-stark-differences https://www.healthdata.org/news-events/newsroom/news-release...
  - istjohn 9mo ago
    Your source doesn't support your claim.
    - lostlogin 9mo ago
      Thank you. Ironically, the above link is a good discussion on biological differences in morbidity, which was the parent comment’s point, and not what I was trying to show. For differences in healthcare men and women receive, I was after a something like this: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2096490/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2096490/
      - iowemoretohim 9mo ago
        Look long enough and you will always find something to support your claim.
  - lotsofpulp 9mo ago
    When Fire-Dragon-DoL writes >That 5 years difference between men and women keeps being biologically weird The implication is that the "biological" expectation would be that men and women have the same life expectancy, absent medical intervention and societal standards and whatnot. But it is possible that, due to having different biologies, men and women simply have different life expectancies. Similar to how men and women have different muscle mass and bone densities and height and yada yada. Obviously, external factors could also be a factor, but my point is "internal" factors are also in play.
- Fire-Dragon-DoL 9mo ago
  I'm ignorant on the matter, but "vastly" seems a bit too much, given that a good chunk of medicine applies to both. They are different, no doubt, but not the difference between a human and a crab. 5 years life expectancy difference is a lot. As a man, it is frustrating and I want to make sure I get the most out of my life (which I enjoy)
  - lotsofpulp 9mo ago
    "A lot" is arbitrary, as would be the expectation that men and women would have the same longevity (absent medical intervention). It seems evident that the taller you are, the less life expectancy you have from the simple fact that the heart has to work harder. Hence, since men are usually taller than women, it might also be expected for men to die younger. I am making the following scenario up, but what if a difference in men and women's bodies causes men to process cholesterol differently, and increases the probability of atherosclerosis and/or arteriosclerosis. Perhaps it happens simply because men eat more than women, and this compounds over decades of life, eventually resulting in the difference in average age at death.
    - Rury 9mo ago
      Yeah, I personally believe women's longer lifespan mostly stems from a lower caloric intake. Studies have long suggested that reducing caloric intake can be one of the best things you can do for health and extending lifespan. And this has been shown true across many species including: yeast, worms, flies, mice, monkeys, fish, and others. We also observe that larger animals tend to live longer than smaller animals, but intra-species it tends to be the opposite (e.g. small dogs tend to live slightly longer than large dogs). It also makes some sense biologically speaking, as we now know that most genetic mutations and errors happen during cellular reproduction when DNA is copied, and cellular reproduction rates correlate with nutrient uptake, alongside mutations with age. Of course too much caloric restriction can be detrimental, but seems to me this could explain much of the difference in life expectancy between men and women. That and perhaps the genetic advantages from having two X chromosomes.
    - Fire-Dragon-DoL 9mo ago
brandonb 9mo ago
Part of the gap is that men develop heart disease 7 years earlier: https://www.empirical.health/blog/men-vs-women-heart-disease/ https://www.empirical.health/blog/men-vs-women-heart-disease...
dietr1ch 9mo ago
We are different, you might want to check how hearing decline is also dramatically different
skybrian 9mo ago
Yeah, that seems curious. But nowadays, you can just ask. So I asked ChatGPT and it listed a wide variety of factors. > Researchers generally group explanations into (1) cause-of-death differences, (2) exposure/behavior differences, (3) healthcare-use differences, and (4) biological differences. https://chatgpt.com/share/697ec925-3ab0-8000-9a09-d47d2fb33d08 https://chatgpt.com/share/697ec925-3ab0-8000-9a09-d47d2fb33d...
vharuck 9mo ago
Men do riskier shit when young. They are also less likely to have a primary care physician.
chneu 9mo ago
At least in the Freedom Loving USA, real men eat 4 servings of red meat per day and drink beer. But really, men do dumber shit and tend to have much worse diets than women.

That 5 years difference between men and women keeps being biologically weird

lotsofpulp 9mo ago

Why? They have vastly different biologies.

lostlogin 9mo ago
That’s not the only reason. Men are treated differently to women in healthcare. There is no shortage of data on this. Here is one example: https://www.healthdata.org/news-events/newsroom/news-releases/lancet-public-health-global-study-reveals-stark-differences https://www.healthdata.org/news-events/newsroom/news-release...
- istjohn 9mo ago
  Your source doesn't support your claim.
  - lostlogin 9mo ago
    Thank you. Ironically, the above link is a good discussion on biological differences in morbidity, which was the parent comment’s point, and not what I was trying to show. For differences in healthcare men and women receive, I was after a something like this: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2096490/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2096490/
    - iowemoretohim 9mo ago
      Look long enough and you will always find something to support your claim.
- lotsofpulp 9mo ago
  When Fire-Dragon-DoL writes >That 5 years difference between men and women keeps being biologically weird The implication is that the "biological" expectation would be that men and women have the same life expectancy, absent medical intervention and societal standards and whatnot. But it is possible that, due to having different biologies, men and women simply have different life expectancies. Similar to how men and women have different muscle mass and bone densities and height and yada yada. Obviously, external factors could also be a factor, but my point is "internal" factors are also in play.
Fire-Dragon-DoL 9mo ago
I'm ignorant on the matter, but "vastly" seems a bit too much, given that a good chunk of medicine applies to both. They are different, no doubt, but not the difference between a human and a crab. 5 years life expectancy difference is a lot. As a man, it is frustrating and I want to make sure I get the most out of my life (which I enjoy)
- lotsofpulp 9mo ago
  "A lot" is arbitrary, as would be the expectation that men and women would have the same longevity (absent medical intervention). It seems evident that the taller you are, the less life expectancy you have from the simple fact that the heart has to work harder. Hence, since men are usually taller than women, it might also be expected for men to die younger. I am making the following scenario up, but what if a difference in men and women's bodies causes men to process cholesterol differently, and increases the probability of atherosclerosis and/or arteriosclerosis. Perhaps it happens simply because men eat more than women, and this compounds over decades of life, eventually resulting in the difference in average age at death.
  - Rury 9mo ago
    Yeah, I personally believe women's longer lifespan mostly stems from a lower caloric intake. Studies have long suggested that reducing caloric intake can be one of the best things you can do for health and extending lifespan. And this has been shown true across many species including: yeast, worms, flies, mice, monkeys, fish, and others. We also observe that larger animals tend to live longer than smaller animals, but intra-species it tends to be the opposite (e.g. small dogs tend to live slightly longer than large dogs). It also makes some sense biologically speaking, as we now know that most genetic mutations and errors happen during cellular reproduction when DNA is copied, and cellular reproduction rates correlate with nutrient uptake, alongside mutations with age. Of course too much caloric restriction can be detrimental, but seems to me this could explain much of the difference in life expectancy between men and women. That and perhaps the genetic advantages from having two X chromosomes.
  - Fire-Dragon-DoL 9mo ago

brandonb 9mo ago

Part of the gap is that men develop heart disease 7 years earlier: https://www.empirical.health/blog/men-vs-women-heart-disease/ https://www.empirical.health/blog/men-vs-women-heart-disease...

dietr1ch 9mo ago

We are different, you might want to check how hearing decline is also dramatically different

skybrian 9mo ago

Yeah, that seems curious. But nowadays, you can just ask. So I asked ChatGPT and it listed a wide variety of factors. > Researchers generally group explanations into (1) cause-of-death differences, (2) exposure/behavior differences, (3) healthcare-use differences, and (4) biological differences. https://chatgpt.com/share/697ec925-3ab0-8000-9a09-d47d2fb33d08 https://chatgpt.com/share/697ec925-3ab0-8000-9a09-d47d2fb33d...

vharuck 9mo ago

Men do riskier shit when young. They are also less likely to have a primary care physician.

chneu 9mo ago

At least in the Freedom Loving USA, real men eat 4 servings of red meat per day and drink beer. But really, men do dumber shit and tend to have much worse diets than women.