The average lifespan of women is 8% longer than the lifespan of men. In a study among wild mammals, it was revealed that in 60% of the studied species, females lived an average of 18.6% longer than males. This rate varies in different mammal groups. An international team of scientists, led by Jean-François Lemaître from the University of Lyon, France, investigated sex-dependent survival in 134 populations of 101 wild mammal species. In the study, it was observed that the effect of gender on life span was highly variable between species. Although females consistently live longer than males, it turns out that the risk of death does not increase in males faster than males. Scientists think that more complex factors such as environmental conditions, survival and reproduction play a role in the life of animals. The lifetime difference between females and males is shaped by environmental conditions with a balance between reproduction and survival. In some species, men devote more resources to sexual competition and reproduction. This, in turn, can affect their lives due to their sex. Another possible explanation for gender difference is that males protect females. Giving birth and taking care of offspring requires females to allocate resources from their health, but when both parents make a joint effort to raise their offspring, this resource decreases. Scientists plan to compare the data of wild mammals with those in the zoo to measure how biological differences between genders affect lifespan. The results of the research are thought to contribute to understanding what affects human life. The authors of the study say that the differences between male and female life span are shaped by complex interactions between local environmental conditions and gender-specific reproductive biology. They say that more research will provide an innovative perspective on the evolutionary roots underlying aging in both genders.
