Study: Men older than 50 have 60% higher risk of death compared to women

March 15 (UPI) -- Men age 50 and older have a 60% higher risk for death than women, due at least in part to increased rates of smoking and heart disease, according to a study published Monday by Canadian Medical Association Journal.

This increased risk for death for older men was true in all 28 countries included in the analysis, the researchers said.

The difference in death risk was highest in Japan, where men were at a 144% higher risk than women.

In the United States, older men had a 43% higher risk of death compared to women.

"Different cultural traditions, historical contexts, and economic and societal development may influence gender experiences in different countries, and thus variably affect the health status of men and women," researchers from King's College London wrote.

The analysis is based on data from more than 179,000 adults aged 50 years and older, who were followed for about four years.

The participants ranged in age from 55 to 71 years, and about 15% died during the study period.

Just over 40% of the participants had high blood pressure at the start of the study, while 17% had heart disease, 13% had diabetes and 23% had depression.

Participants who drank alcohol had a 74% higher risk for death compared to those who abstained, while those diagnosed with depression had a 72% higher risk for death than those who did not.

Participants who had no spouse had a 71% higher risk for death, while those who had diabetes, high blood pressure and diabetes had a roughly 60% higher risk.

Although men older than 50 had a 60% higher risk for death compared to women, the difference was lower among non-smokers by gender, at 40%, and among those without heart disease, at 34%.

This suggests higher rates of smoking and heart disease in men are driving the differences, the researchers said.

In the United States, 17% of men smoke compared to 14% of women, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse.

In addition, about 10% more men than women are diagnosed with heart disease annually, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.

"The effects of sex on mortality should include not only physiologic variation between men and women, but also the social construct of gender, which differs across societies," the researchers wrote.

"Although the biology of the sexes is consistent across populations, variation in cultural, societal and historical contexts can lead to different life experiences of men and women and variation in the mortality gap across countries," they said.