It's well known that women may live longer than men because of their stronger immune systems, say researchers. They believe females are born with an inner strength which works more effectively and for longer than it does in males. It was also thought female hormones were more protective, preventing the development of heart disease, for example. |
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A woman born today can expect to live 79.8 years - five years longer than a male. Although the gap has narrowed slightly in recent years, male life expectancy is only at the level enjoyed by women 30 years ago.
Now, researchers at Imperial College School of Medicine in London believe women may actually be born with a more powerful immune system that protects them against disease well into old age.
They found women produce more infection-fighting white blood cells than men of the same age. A team led by Dr Richard Aspinall and Dr Jeffery Pido-Lopez tracked the number of new white cells - known as T-cells - in 46 healthy men and women aged between 20 and 62.
In both sexes, the thymus gland, which produces T-cells, made fewer cells with increasing age. Yet women still had higher levels of new T-cells than men of the same age, according to a report in the magazine New Scientist.
But, not talking about science anymore, here are some exemples why women really live more than man:
Now, researchers at Imperial College School of Medicine in London believe women may actually be born with a more powerful immune system that protects them against disease well into old age.
They found women produce more infection-fighting white blood cells than men of the same age. A team led by Dr Richard Aspinall and Dr Jeffery Pido-Lopez tracked the number of new white cells - known as T-cells - in 46 healthy men and women aged between 20 and 62.
In both sexes, the thymus gland, which produces T-cells, made fewer cells with increasing age. Yet women still had higher levels of new T-cells than men of the same age, according to a report in the magazine New Scientist.
But, not talking about science anymore, here are some exemples why women really live more than man:
Continuing, the researchers looked at the statistics for deaths in Britain from pneumonia and influenza between 1993 and 1998. They found more men than women died from the diseases and that the trend mirrored the difference in thymus activity between the sexes.
Traditionally, the difference in life expectancy between the sexes was blamed on the greater risks taken by men - in terms of accidents and illnesses linked to lifestyle such as heart disease and cancers. |
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