Women's life span edge over men slowing

A new, 20-year research project shows women still outlive men but that their life spans are increasing more slowly than men's.

The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation conducted a county-by-county estimate and comparison of U.S. life expectancies from 1989 to 2009.

Nationwide, life expectancy grew by 4.6 years for men and 2.7 years for women in those two decades.

“Men are catching up with them,” said Dr. Ali Mokdad, head of the study's U.S. County Performance team. “Men and women should have exactly the same life expectancy (gains).”

Chipping away at women's life spans are preventable causes of death, including tobacco, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity and alcohol, researchers say.

“Their life spans are getting shorter because they are not able to control the risk factors,” Mokdad said.

The study was funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, which is part of the National Institutes of Health. The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation is an independent global health research center at the University of Washington.

In 661 counties, women's life expectancy held steady or decreased from 1989. The study also found that a larger percentage of women than men had inadequately treated high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Dr. Cheryl Lambing, the Ventura County California Health Care Agency's clinical education and outreach medical director, said the study's findings merit more investigation.

“This is a red flag,” Lambing said. “We need to look closer. We need better data collection and medical studies.”

Lambing, who served with the Office on Women's Health in Washington, D.C., said she is not surprised at the factors affecting women's life spans. She says she wants more detailed clinical studies to find out why women are not keeping pace with men in terms of improving their health, but she has some hypotheses.

Health research studies were often conducted on only men 15 years ago, Lambing said, because the results would not be affected by as many hormonal cycles. Today, more research is needed on diagnoses, symptoms and preventive measures for women and on their physiology, she said.

“Physiology between men and women is very different,” she said. “Aspirin is a great example. Evidence shows that you give aspirin to both men and women to prevent cardiovascular disease. But when you study them, they pan out very differently.”

Social factors may play a part, too, said William Heisel, the institute's assistant director of external relations.

“Men started smoking post-World War II in big numbers,” he said. “We see a peak and then a decline. Women started smoking a decade or two later.”

Lung cancer generally shows up after years of smoking, so lung cancer deaths peaked and then declined in men after research showed the dangers of smoking. Heisel said there now could be a similar cycle for women.

Lambing said dietary changes and the increasing number of women in the workplace could be contributing to stress and life spans.

“We're perhaps not working on a farm. We're working at a desk,” she said. “There is less activity.

“Obesity impacts every chronic medical condition I manage. If you can drop 10 pounds, you can drop your blood pressure.

“We need to get back to the basics,” Lambing said. “We need to start with our pediatric patients. It's diet, exercise and active management (of medical conditions).”