Post-Reproductive Change of Sex Gap in Mortality in Relation to Cumulative Physiological Dysregulation

Yang Yang, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Michael Kozloski, University of Chicago

Despite much interest in the sources of sex differentials in mortality, there is a lack of attention to age variations in sex gaps in mortality. This study fills this gap using nationally representative samples of over 11,000 individuals aged 17+ from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Linked Mortality Files (1988 – 2006). We assess 18-year mortality from all causes and major degenerative diseases including circulatory disease, heart disease, malignant neoplasms and lung cancer and further link age changes in sex differences in mortality to major physiological determinants of longevity including inflammation, metabolic functions, and the allostatic load. Statistical analyses using Cox proportional hazards models show strong and significant age variations in the sex gaps in mortality from all causes. There is evidence for post-reproductive reduction in sex-mortality gaps except for the case of cancer that is largely accounted for by cumulative physiological dyesregulation or the allostatic load.