Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-jr42d Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-19T01:27:23.070Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Sex differences in longevity are relative, not independent

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 July 2022

Mikkel Wallentin Open the ORCID record for Mikkel Wallentin [Opens in a new window]
Mikkel Wallentin*
Affiliation:
Department of Linguistics, Cognitive Science and Semiotics, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark mikkel@cc.au.dkhttps://pure.au.dk/portal/en/persons/mikkel-wallentin(abf0a704-afc4-4576-9df7-3d84420bc2fc).html
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

I ask three questions related to the claims made within the staying alive theory (SAT): Is survival more fitness-enhancing for females than for males? Does the historical record on sex differences in mortality support the SAT? Is it possible to talk about “independent selective pressures on both male and female traits” when all we have are sex/gender comparisons?

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Information
Behavioral and Brain Sciences , Volume 45 , 2022 , e150
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Barclay, K., & Kolk, M. (2019). Parity and mortality: An examination of different explanatory mechanisms using data on biological and adoptive parents. European Journal of Population, 35(1), 63–85. doi: 10.1007/s10680-018-9469-1CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Beltrán-Sánchez, H., Finch, C. E., & Crimmins, E. M. (2015). Twentieth century surge of excess adult male mortality. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 112(29), 8993. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1421942112CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Campbell, A. (1999). Staying alive: Evolution, culture, and women's intrasexual aggression. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 22(2), 203–214. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X99001818CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
McArdle, P. F., Pollin, T. I., O'Connell, J. R., Sorkin, J. D., Agarwala, R., Schäffer, A. A., … Mitchell, B. D. (2006). Does having children extend life span? A genealogical study of parity and longevity in the Amish. Journals of Gerontology. Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences, 61(2), 190–195. doi: 10.1093/gerona/61.2.190CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
mortality.org. Human Mortality Database. Retrieved 2021/12/21, from University of California, Berkeley (USA), and Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (Germany).Google Scholar
Preston, S. H., & Wang, H. (2006). Sex mortality differences in The United States: The role of cohort smoking patterns. Demography, 43(4), 631–646. doi: 10.1353/dem.2006.0037CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Thorslund, M., Wastesson, J. W., Agahi, N., Lagergren, M., & Parker, M. G. (2013). The rise and fall of women's advantage: A comparison of national trends in life expectancy at age 65 years. European Journal of Ageing, 10(4), 271–277. doi: 10.1007/s10433-013-0274-8CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wilmoth, J. R. (2007). Human longevity in a historical perspective. In Timiras, P. S. (Ed.), Physiological basis of aging and geriatrics (4th ed., pp. 11–22). Informa.Google Scholar
Zarulli, V., Kashnitsky, I., & Vaupel, J. W. (2021). Death rates at specific life stages mold the sex gap in life expectancy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 118(20), e2010588118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2010588118CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed