Solving the paradox
Scientists have explained why women's health is worse in old age than men's
Dmitry Mazalevsky, Naked Science
Science has long wondered why the health of women in old age is much worse than that of men, given that the chance of a man dying at any age is higher (the paradox of "male-female, health-survival"). According to scientists, it's about genes that benefit one sex, but harm the other.
Researchers from the University of Exeter used mathematical models and data from experiments on flies and found that such genes can easily spread if they take effect after a woman comes out of reproductive age. The results of the work are published in the journal Nature Communications (Archer et al., Intralocus sexual conflict can resolve the male-female health-survival paradox).
"Shared genes bind the two sexes together in an evolutionary 'tug of war': breeding tries to direct women and men in different directions, but a common genome suggests that the well-being of one sex will entail disadvantages for the other and vice versa. At the same time, after women reach menopause, any genes that improve a man's physical condition in old age will accumulate and negatively affect a woman's body," says Professor David Hosken from the University of Exeter.
According to the scientist, an important factor is that survival and physical health are not the same thing. The accumulation of genes useful for men's well-being at the end of life depends on their ability to fertilize after women overcome menopause.
The data analyzed by the researchers in experiments on fruit flies (drosophila) confirm the results of mathematical models calculated on humans, since genes that would help men maintain the ability to fertilize in old age, as a rule, negatively affected women's health.
The paradox of health and survival of men and women (the male-female health-survival paradox) is a phenomenon observed in modern society: women live longer, but at the same time they are more likely to suffer from various forms of disability and demonstrate lower indicators of overall health than men.
According to experts, this fact has far-reaching economic, sociological and medical consequences. Various data indicate that men die at a younger age than women, despite high health indicators – this is due to biological and environmental differences that include various behavioral, cultural and social factors.
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