Mortality Differences by Sex among the Oldest-Old

Women live on average longer than men. Excess male mortality is observed at all ages in developed countries, even during the childbearing years, which until relatively recently were characterized by an excess female mortality. But while excess male mortality is now present at all ages, its intensity nonetheless varies greatly. The pattern observed in many countries comprises twin peaks. The first, at around age 20, is very high and is almost entirely due to violent deaths (in particular road traffic accidents involving two-wheeled vehicles). Yet because total mortality at this age is very low, this excess mortality, though very high, has only a slight influence on the difference in life-expectancy values. It is the second peak, observed between ages 55 and 75, also quite high, which is responsible for most of the difference, given that it occurs at the ages where mortality is already high while the number of survivors is still large.