P/N/15. Life expectancy and morbidity in men and women

The paper explores the issues of life expectancy and morbidity in men and women in contemporary Britain seeking to answer two questions. The first question is: do women live longer than men? The data covering the last two decades prove that men are catching up with women: their life expectancy has increased to 75.6 (80.3 for women) and the death rates have stabilised (10,1 for men and 10.5 for women). It is unclear though, whether men's health is getting better or women's health is deteriorating. The second question is: are women sicker than men? The rate of general ill health is measured by self-reporting status (women rate higher in illness assessment) and health service statistics (men rate higher in reporting ill health to doctors). The social, physiological and psychological reasons are discussed. The paper concludes that statistic data challenge the assumption that women are more prone to report illnesses, though they are more sensitive to illness and discomfort.