Publication
New study of probability of males to outlive females in focus
The paper ‘Probability of males to outlive females: an international comparison from 1751 to 2020’ led by our Marie-Pier Bergeron Boucher measures sex differences in lifespan based on the probability of males to outlive females. It was among the Top 10 most read articles in BMJ Open in the past months and widely cited by the media. The shifted perspective showing that a non-negligeable proportion of men outlive females caught attention as novel and surprising to some.
This study challenges a common perception about longevity: while women generally live longer than men, men still have a significant chance of outliving women.
Researchers analyzed life expectancy data from 199 populations worldwide between 1751 and 2020. They found that the probability of a randomly selected man living longer than a randomly selected woman typically ranges from 25% to 50%, despite men's lower average life expectancy and higher mortality rates at most ages.
The study also found that recent reductions in lifespan inequality have made it less likely for men to outlive women. According to the researchers, these findings reveal that differences in longevity between women and men are more nuanced than commonly assumed.
Read the article here.