Abstract
Higher mortality rates among males are a common occurrence across different cultures and countries. The causes of this higher mortality can be biological as well as behavioural in nature. The biological evidence applies across all nations and communities, but the behavioural causes, arising from the decision processes and communication strategies of individuals, will necessarily have cultural and environmental dimensions that change with time. This study examines gender disparities in mortality across ethnicity and time in Malaysia. The study shows that there is a consistent gender differential across time but it has widened for the Malays and the Indians and narrowed for the Chinese. Most importantly, it has widened considerably for young adults. Analysis of the leading causes of death show that young adult males are more likely to engage in risk-taking behaviour, and that the related causes and the extent of such causes vary across the ethnic groups.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Acemoglu, D.A. and S. Johnson. 2006. Disease and development: the effect of life expectancy on economic growth.NBER Working Paper No. 12269. Cambridge MA: National Bureau of Economic Research.
Bhatia, S. 1983. Traditional practices affecting female health and survival: evidence from countries of South Asia. Pp. 165–177 in A.D. Lopez and L.T. Ruzicka (eds),Sex Differentials in Mortality: Trends, Determinants and Consequences. Canberra: Australian National University.
Braun, L., A. Fausto-Sterling, D. Fullwiley, E.M. Hammonds, A. Nelson, W. Quivers, S.M. Reverby, and A.E. Shields. 2007. Racial categories in medical practice: how useful are they?PLoS Medicine 4(9): e271.
Brown, M. andPLoS Medicine Editors. 2007. Defining human differences in biomedicine.PLoS Medicine 4(9): e288.
Caldwell, J. C. 1990. Cultural and social factors influencing mortality levels in developing countries.Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 510: 44–59.
Case, A. and C. Paxson. 2005. Sex differences in morbidity and mortality.Demography 42(2): 189–214.
Coale, A.J. 1996. Age patterns and time sequence of mortality in national populations with the highest expectation of life at birth.Population and Development Review 22(1): 127–135.
Department of Statistics, Malaysia. 1983.Vital Statistics, Peninsular Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur.
Department of Statistics, Malaysia. 1986.Revised Life Tables by Sex and Ethnic Group for Peninsular Malaysia, 1970 and 1980. Kuala Lumpur.
Department of Statistics, Malaysia. 2003.Malaysia Economic Statistics — Time Series 2002. Kuala Lumpur.
Department of Statistics, Malaysia. 2006a.Vital Statistics Malaysia, Special Edition, 2001–2006. Putrajaya.
Department of Statistics, Malaysia. 2006b.Abridged Life Tables, Malaysia 2002–2005. Putrajaya.
Ellison, G., A. Smart, R. Tutton, S.M. Outram, R. Ashcroft and P. Martin. 2007. Racial categories in medicine: a failure of evidence-based practice?PLoS Medicine 4(9): e287.
Fernandes, B. 1988. Sex differentials in mortality, Peninsular Malaysia, 1947–80.Quarterly Review of Malaysian Population Studies 1: 11–17.
Fernandez, J.L. 2007. Gender and earnings. Ph.D thesis, University of Malaya.
Hirschman, C. and K.J. Tan. 1971.Evaluation of Mortality Data in the Vital Statistics of West Malaysia. Kuala Lumpur: Department of Statistics, Malaysia.
Houweling, T.A.J., A.E.K. Caspar, W.N. Looman and J.P. Mackenbach. 2005. Determinants of under-5 mortality among the poor and the rich: a cross-national analysis of 43 developing countries.International Journal of Epidemiology 34(6): 1257–1265.
Institute for Public Health, Ministry of Health, Malaysia. 2004.Malaysian Burden of Disease and Injury Study. Health: Prioritisation: Burden of Disease Approach. Kuala Lumpur.
Kalben, B.B. 2002. Why men die younger: causes of mortality differences by sex.Society of Actuaries Monograph M-LI01-1
Keppel, K., E. Pamuk, J. Lynchet al. 2005. Methodological issues in measuring health disparities. National Center for Health Statistics.Vital Health Statistics 2(141): 1–16.
Keyfitz, N. and A. Golini. 1975. Mortality comparisons: the male-female ratio.Genus 31: 1–34.
Khang, Y.H., J.W. Lynch and G.A. Kaplan. 2004. Health inequalities in Korea: age- and sex-specific educational differences in the 10 leading causes of death.International Journal of Epidemiology 33(2): 299–308.
Kruger, D.J. and R.M. Nesse. 2006. An evolutionary life-history framework for understanding sex differences in human mortality rates.Human Nature 17(1): 74–97.
Lee, K.H. and S. Nagaraj. 2006. Human resources development. Pp. 29–72 in Y.L. Wong and N.P. Tey (eds),Our People, Our Future: Malaysian Population in Perspective. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press.
Lopez, A.D. 1983. The sex mortality differential in developed countries. Pp. 53–120 in A.D. Lopez and L.T. Ruzicka (eds),Sex Differentials in Mortality: Trends, Determinants and Consequences. Canberra: Australian National University.
Lynch, S.M. and J.S. Brown. 2001. Reconsidering mortality compression and deceleration: an alternative model of mortality rates.Demography 38(1): 79–95.
Ministry of Health, Malaysia. 1997.National Health and Morbidity Survey 1996. Report of the Diabetes Sub-group. Kuala Lumpur.
Ministry of Women and Family Development, Malaysia. 2003.The Progress of Malaysian Women since Independence 1957–2000. Kuala Lumpur.
Muhuri, P.K., M.F. MacDorman and T.M. Ezzati-Rice. 2004. Racial differences in leading causes of infant death in the United States.Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology 18(1): 51–60.
Murray, C.J.L. and A.D. Lopez. 1998. Mortality by cause for eight regions of the world: Global Burden of Disease Study.Lancet 349: 1269–1276.
Nagaraj, S. and K.H. Lee. 2003. Human resource development and social reengineering: which part of the field are we levelling? In J. Yahaya, N.P. Tey and K.K. Yeoh (eds),Sustaining Growth, Enhancing Distribution: The NEP and NDP Revisited. Kuala Lumpur: Centre for Economic Development and Ethnic Relations, University of Malaya.
Nagaraj, S., K.H. Lee, N.P. Tey, C.W. Ng and J. Pala. 2007. Counting and integration: the experience of Malaysia. Paper presented at the International Conference on Social Statistics and Ethnic Diversity: Should We Count, How Should We Count and Why? Montreal, 6–8 December.
Nathanson, C.A. 1984. Sex differences in mortality.Annual Review of Sociology 10: 191–213.
Noor Laily, D.A.B., Y.J. Takeshita, P.K. Mazumdar and B.A. Tan. 1983. The changing ethnic patterns of mortality in Malaysia: 1957–1979.National Family Planning Board Research Paper No 6. Kuala Lumpur.
Pampel, F.C. 1998. National context, social change, and sex differences in suicide rates.American Sociological Review 63: 744–768.
Pampel, F.C. 2001. Gender equality and the sex differential in mortality from accidents in high income nations.Population Research and Policy Review 20: 397–421.
Panis, C.W.A. and L.A. Lillard. 1995. Child mortality in Malaysia: explaining ethnic differences and the recent decline.Population Studies 49(3): 463–479.
Pathmanathan, I., J.M. Martins, L.C. Rajapaksa, C. Lissner, A. de Silva, S. Selvaraju and P.J. Singh. 2003.Investing in Maternal Health: Learning from Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Washington DC: World Bank.
Phillips, S.P. 2005. Defining and measuring gender: a social determinant of health whose time has come.International Journal for Equity in Health 4: 11.
Salomon, J.A. and C.J.L. Murray. 2002. The epidemiologic transition revisited: compositional models for causes of death by age and sex.Population and Development Review 28(2): 205–228.
Singh, G.K. and R.A. Hiatt. 2006. Trends and disparities in socioeconomic and behavioural characteristics, life expectancy, and cause-specific mortality of native-born and foreign-born populations in the United States, 1979–2003.International Journal of Epidemiology 35(4), 903–919.
Smith, K.P. and I.T. Elo. 2003. Trends in socioeconomic differentials in mortality by age, race, and gender. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, Atlanta Hilton Hotel, Atlanta <http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p107547_index. html> Accessed 22 April 2008.
Tan, P.C., K.K. Kwok, B.A. Tan, S. Nagaraj, N.P. Tey and S. Norazah. 1988. Socio-economic development and mortality patterns and trends in Malaysia.Asia Pacific Population Journal 2(1): 3–20.
Tan, P.C., B.A. Tan, N.P. Tey, K.K. Kwok and S. Nagaraj. 1990. Sex differentials and mortality trends in the process of development in Malaysia. Pp. 457–482 in J. Ariffin and S.R. Yahya (eds),Women and Development in Malaysia: Implications for Planning and Population Dynamics. Kuala Lumpur: Population Studies Unit, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya.
Tey, N.P. 2006. Gender differentials in educational attainment. Pp. 101–120 in S. Nagaraj, K.L. Goh and N.P. Tey (eds),Statistics in Action. Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press.
Tey, N.P. and B. Balakrishnan. Forthcoming. Mortality trends and differentials in Malaysia since 1970. In J. Ariffin (ed.),Women and Development: A Sequel.
United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs, Population Division. 2007.World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision, vol. 1,Comprehensive Tables. Sales No E.07.XIII.2. New York.
Waldron, I. 1993. Recent trends in sex mortality ratios for adults in developed countries.Social Science and Medicine 36: 451–462.
WHO Database on Mortality. <http://www.who.int/healthinfo/morttables/en/index.html> Accessed 15 March 2008.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Nagaraj, S., Tey, NP., Ng, CW. et al. Ethnic dimensions of gender differentials in mortality in Malaysia. Journal of Population Research 25, 183–205 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03031948
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03031948