Men still die before women. Is toxic masculinity to blame? | Haider Javed Warraich and Robert Califf

For much of recent history, men have tended to die earlier than women, though this was not always the case: for many centuries, the perils of childbirth effectively nullified any advantage women had over men. But modern medical care has dramatically reduced maternal death, and women in most countries now have a consistent advantage in life expectancy compared with men.

According to the most recent US data, the average American man dies five years before the average American women, and even wider gaps are seen among different racial and ethnic minorities: for example, Asian American women live 16.5 years longer than African American men on average.

While disparities in life expectancy between that in societies where maternal mortality from childbirth has improved and birth control reduces family size, women consistently outlive men.