Sex Differentials In Mortality Research Articles

Life expectancy at birth and life disparity: an assessment of sex differentials in mortality in India

This study aims to examine the sex differentials in life expectancy at birth and life disparity, and to estimate the age-specific contribution of the differences for India and its major states. Life dispari-ty measures the variation in the distribution of deaths, and life expectancy at birth measures the average length of life. Complete life tables generated from death rates and abridged life tables of the Sample Reg-istration System in India from 1970–1975 to 2006–2010 were used to fulfill the research goals. Stepwise replacement algorithm was used for the decomposition of sex differences in life expectancy at birth and in life disparity. The results indicate that the increase in life expectancy at birth and decline in life disparity was higher for females. The sex differential was more prominent in urban areas than in rural areas. A ma-jority of the states in India experienced changes in the direction and magnitude of sex differentials in life expectancy at birth and life disparity from 1970–1975 to 2006–2010. The sex differentials in life expec-tancy at birth and life disparity in 1970–1975 were primarily attributed to child mortality, whereas the sex differentials in recent decades were attributed to adult mortality.        

Survival disadvantage of male children with retinoblastoma in the United States: Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (2000-2017) Evidence.

Retinoblastoma is a rare malignancy involving the retina, although, more common among children, with genetic inheritance explaining the incidence as well as acquired forms. The incidence varies among race and sex as well as mortality and survival. The current study aimed to assess retinoblastoma cumulative incidence (CMI), mortality, and survival by sex. A retrospective cohort design was used to assess the CMI, mortality, and survival in this pediatric malignancy based on the Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) data 2000-2017. The binomial regression model was used to examine sex differentials in mortality, as well as other study variables, while Cox proportional hazard model was used for the survival variability by sex. The CMI during this period was higher among males relative to females (males n=249, 56.7%; females n=190, 43.3%, χ2 =2.90, df=1, p=0.089). There were sex differences in mortality, with excess mortality observed among males compared to females, risk ratio=3.40, 95% CI [1.0-15.72]. The survival differences by sex indicated decreased survival among males relative to females, hazard ratio (HR)=3.39, 95% CI [1.0-15.72]. After controlling for the potential confoundings, namely tumor grade, urbanity, and median income the survival disadvantage of males persisted. Compared to females', males were more than three times as likely to die, adjusted HR=3.42, 99% CI [0.37-31.60]. In a representative sample of pediatric retinoblastoma, there was a sex differential in survival with excess risk of dying identified among males relative to females, which may be explained in part by male X-linkage.

On the Reversal of Historic ‘Superiority’ of Tribal Mortality and Gender Relations in India

Given that population sex ratio and sex differentials in mortality are the two commonly employed indicators of gender-discrimination/anti-female biases in intra-household distribution of resources, this article performs two major tasks: (a) it reviews existing estimates of sex differentials in mortality among tribal (ST) children (including neonates) up to 6 years of age (in comparison with those of their counterparts of SC and other communities) and (b) it presents and analyses the author’s own estimates of sex-specific infant and child mortality rates separately for ST, SC and other social categories at all-India level by utilising three consecutive National Family Health Survey data. It is shown that the picture of tribal gender relations, while having traditionally been more balanced and equitable, has of late been one of trailing or having caught up with long-standing, albeit unenviable, mainstream anti-female features, resulting in an annihilation of a potentially rewarding opportunity for mainstream to learn from pristine tribal culture ideologically supportive of gender balance and equality.

Determinants of sex differentials in mortality: an assessment of household-level factors in South Africa

Background: Increasingly high male mortality hinders progress towards improving overall life expectancy. Data Source & Method : The study used data from South Africa’s 2016 Community Survey to examine the household-level determinants of male mortality. Chi square tests and binary logistic regression were used. Results: Out of the 30,022 deaths in the sample, males comprised 52.8%. Male deaths were high at all ages except for age group 75+ years. Odds of male mortality were higher (OR:2.08; CI:1.98-2.18) among those that lived in female headed households or White-headed households (OR:1.50;CI:1.29-1.73). There was less likelihood of male deaths (OR:0.91;CI:0.87-0.97) in households that were not involved in agriculture. Conclusion: Overall, mortality differentials were largely explained by household demographics including age, race and gender dynamics of heads of households. We recommend a multi-sectoral policy and programme implementation that promotes deliberate inclusiveness of household characteristics in their delivery.

Mapping the diversity of gender preferences and sex imbalances in Indonesia in 2010

Indonesia is usually viewed as a country free of the acute forms of gender discrimination observed elsewhere in East or South Asia, a situation often ascribed to Indonesia's bilateral kinship system. I re-examine this hypothesis by focusing on ethnic and regional variations in sex differentials. New indicators of marriage practices and gender bias derived from 2010 census microdata highlight the presence of patrilocal patterns as well as a distinct presence of son preference in fertility behaviour in many parts of the archipelago. I also present evidence for excessive child sex ratios and excess mortality of females in some areas that appear to be related to son preference and patrilocal residence systems. The findings confirm the association between son preference, sex differentials in mortality, prenatal sex selection, and kinship systems. I conclude with a more regional perspective on demographic vulnerability of females, distinguishing bilateral South East Asia from more patrilineal Melanesia.

Sex differentials in phthisis mortality in England and Wales, 1861–1870

In the mid-nineteenth century phthisis, or pulmonary tuberculosis, was the single most important cause of death in England and Wales. It was widely distributed geographically though some areas were worse affected than others. This paper explores aspects of the geography of phthisis mortality in England in the second half of the nineteenth century, with particular attention to the sex differential in mortality from this cause. Phthisis is often thought of as a disease of young women, and throughout much of England and Wales, especially in agricultural areas, women aged between 15 and 40 years were especially vulnerable. However the sex ratio of deaths from phthisis varied greatly from place to place and, in some places where phthisis was prevalent, men rather than young women were at the greatest risk of death. Phthisis mortality was sufficiently important that the geography of the overall sex differential in mortality was to a considerable extent determined by the geography of the sex differential in phthisis mortality. Where phthisis mortality disadvantaged females, the overall sex differential between male and female mortality was small or even negative; where phthisis mortality disadvantaged males, the overall sex differential was large. The paper then considers explanations of geographical variations in the sex differential in phthisis mortality. It is not clear that these are best explained by a ‘bargaining-nutrition’ account which holds that young women in poor households were especially vulnerable to mortality from phthisis because their weak intra-household bargaining position compromised their nutritional status. Other factors, such as the return migration to their native areas of out-migrants who became sick with the disease, and working conditions, especially for females, may have been more important. The final part of the paper considers the implications of the results for explanations of the decline of phthisis mortality between 1860 and 1900.

Differential mortality in a long-living community in Sardinia (Italy): a cohort analysis.

The majority of studies on longevity in Sardinia point to an exceptional level of longevity, particularly for males, in this region of Italy. This study used individual data, considering selected groups of individuals such as centenarians, or focusing on cohorts of newborns in a large time period, that have previously been treated as a single group. An analysis on decennial birth cohorts from 1872 to 1911 in a selected village located in the Blue Zone area of longevity in Sardinia was used to gain insight into sex differentials in mortality in this area of high longevity and to separate differences between cohorts' experiences, considering the possible role of significant events in determining differential mortality among them. The results show that there is not a secular trend in survival in the birth cohorts under study, but rather that several points of mortality convergence and crossover occur, which make the estimates derived from conventional sensitivity tests of survival curves unreliable. Differences among birth cohorts' experiences are more marked among the male population and at early adult ages. External events are shown to play a relevant role in mortality variations, despite not having an impact on the ageing process. The results highlight that, although there are not statistically significant differences between the two sexes, the male population is exposed to a higher risk of death and proves to be more vulnerable to external changes. This suggests that extreme contextual conditions, both favourable and unfavourable, may significantly affect the mortality trajectories of a population.

Old age mortality in Eastern and South-Eastern Asia

AbstractBACKGROUNDEastern and South-Eastern Asian countries have witnessed a marked decline in old age mortality in recent decades. Yet no studies have investigated the trends and patterns in old age mortality and cause-of-death in the region.OBJECTIVEWe reviewed the trends and patterns of old age mortality and cause-of-death for countries in the region.METHODSWe examined data on old age mortality in terms of life expectancy at age 65 and age-specific death rates from the 2012 Revision of the World Population Prospects for 14 countries in the region (China, Hong Kong, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Indonesia, Japan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Malaysi a, Mongolia, Philippines, Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Viet Nam) and data on cause-of-death from the WHO for five countries (China, Hong Kong, Japan, Republic of Korea, and Singapore) from 1980 to 2010.RESULTSWhile mortality transitions in these populations took place in different times, and at different levels of socioeconomic development and living environment, changes in their age patterns and sex differentials in mortality showed certain similarities: women witnessed a similar decline to men in spite of their lower mortality, and young elders had a larger decline than the oldest-old. In all five countries examined for cause-of-death, most of the increases in life expectancy at age 65 in both men and women were attributable to declines in mortality from stroke and heart disease. GDP per capita, educational level, and urbanization explained much of the variations in life expectancy and cause-specific mortality, indicating critical contributions of these basic socioeconomic development indicators to the mortality decline over time in the region.CONCLUSIONSThese findings shed light on the relationship between epidemiological transition, changing age patterns of mortality, and improving life expectancy in these populations.(ProQuest: ... denotes formula omitted.)1. IntroductionLike many other countries in the world, Eastern and South-Eastern Asian populations have witnessed a marked decline in old age mortality in recent decades. Life expectancy for both sexes combined at age 65 in Eastern Asia rose from 9.2 years in 1950-1955 to 16.8 years in 2005-2010, a net increase of 7.6 years, and the largest gain of any geographic region of the world. The corresponding gain in life expectancy at age 65 for South-Eastern Asia was 4.0 years rising from 11.2 years in 1950-1955, ranking the middle among all geographic regions in terms of gained years (United Nations Population Division(UNPOP) 2013).Eastern and South-Eastern Asia is unique for studying old age mortality.3 First, this region is home to nearly one-third of the world's total population today, the largest region in the world (UNPOP 2013); some countries 4 in the region have completed the demographic transition while many others are still undergoing transition, which provides promising data for summarizing patterns and trajectories of old age mortality over time (Bongaarts 2009; McNicoll 2006). Second, this region is economically diverse. For example, Japan, Hong Kong,5 and Republic of Korea are high-income economies; China and Thailand are upper middle income countries; Viet Nam and Philippines are lower middle income societies; and Myanmar is a low income country (World Bank 2011). Third, there is a substantial heterogeneity in mortality across countries in the region. Life expectancy at birth for both sexes combined in Japan, Hong Kong, Republic of Korea and Singapore was already above 80 years in 2005-2010, one of the highest in the world, whereas it was just above 64 years in Myanmar, one of the lowest ones in the world among countries not affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Fourth, the low fertility and the declining mortality of populations in the region have contributed remarkably to elderly population growth. …

The role of smoking in the explanation of the Israeli Jewish pattern of sex differentials in mortality

The difference in life expectancy between women and men among Israeli Jews is very low relative to the difference in other developed countries, and the reasons for this are not fully understood. This paper explores the contribution of smoking to the observed patterns of sex-specific mortality among Israeli Jews, and to the sex difference in mortality exhibited by this population. The results show that the mortality of Israeli Jewish men is low owing to the relatively weak impact of smoking-related mortality, and that this also contributes to an explanation of the small sex difference. The result is explained by the high level of health-protective behaviour of Israeli Jewish men, including a low intensity of smoking (though not a low prevalence). The findings could have implications for some debates on the determinants of divergences and convergences in mortality, and research into the relationship between mortality and the Mediterranean diet.

The 1918 influenza pandemic affected sex differentials in mortality: Comment on Sawchuk

The 1918 influenza pandemic affected sex differentials in mortality: Comment on Sawchuk

Faulty genes or faulty parents? Gender, family and survival in early and late childhood in the Netherlands, 1860–1900

According to the famous economist and Nobel prize winner Amartya Sen women have a significant biological advantage over men. Despite this fact women do not always live longer. In today's third world, but also in some areas in Europe at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century we find so-called excess female mortality. In this paper we examine child mortality in The Netherlands in general and gendered patterns of child mortality in particular. The focus is on differential mortality patterns by gender for infants, older children, and young adults up to age 20 in the second half of the 19th century. The analysis takes place at three levels. We start off with an exploration of sex differentials in mortality at the national level, based on the existing literature. We next examine gender differentials in mortality at the level of several Dutch communities, in the region called Twente, focussing on the differences between the city and the countryside. The final part of the analysis focuses on the micro level of the individual and his or her family in the rural community of Lonneker located in the Twente region. In this part of our study we make use of longitudinal individual level data which are analysed with event history methodologies. Our analysis clearly demonstrates that young women and girls in The Netherlands were not always in a position to fully capitalise upon their greater biological advantage and suffered instead considerable excess mortality. Especially in the rural parts of the country girls had lower survival chances. The individual level analysis confirms the importance of sex in explaining child and adolescent mortality. These gendered mortality risks can however not be attributed to social and economic household characteristics. The analysis also shows that, when death came, it literally affected the entire family. This phenomenon, better known under the label ‘death clustering’, may have been an effect of parental incompetence.

Testing the influenza–tuberculosis selective mortality hypothesis with Union Army data

Using Cox regression, this paper shows a weak association between having tuberculosis and dying from influenza among Union Army veterans in late nineteenth-century America. It has been suggested elsewhere [Noymer, A. and M. Garenne (2000). The 1918 influenza epidemic's effects on sex differentials in mortality in the United States. Population and Development Review 26(3), 565–581.] that the 1918 influenza pandemic accelerated the decline of tuberculosis, by killing many people with tuberculosis. The question remains whether individuals with tuberculosis were at greater risk of influenza death, or if the 1918/post-1918 phenomenon arose from the sheer number of deaths in the influenza pandemic. The present findings, from microdata, cautiously point toward an explanation of Noymer and Garenne's selection effect in terms of age-overlap of the 1918 pandemic mortality and tuberculosis morbidity, a phenomenon I term “passive selection”. Another way to think of this is selection at the cohort, as opposed to individual, level.

Brief communication: Rethinking the impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic on sex differentials in mortality

This study will assess the general impact of the 1918 influenza on overall mortality and its impact on mortality attributable to pulmonary tuberculosis in a small-scale population. Using life table and decomposition methodologies, changes in mortality in Gibraltar used a scheme that identified a pre-epidemic period (1904-1917), the epidemic year (1918), and the post-epidemic period (1919-1927). Overall health in both sexes fell significantly in 1918 with a drop in life expectancy at birth, however, health quickly rebounded in the post-epidemic period. In the case of women, there was a significant increase in life expectancy at birth after the epidemic. The impact of influenza on the magnitude of sex differentials in the life expectancy at birth fell during epidemic year but returned to a level comparable to that of the pre-epidemic period. With respect to respiratory tuberculosis deaths, the immediate impact of influenza was restricted to only a significant increase in the rate among women (aged 15-54). In the post-epidemic period, tuberculosis mortality rates returned to the pre-epidemic state in both sexes. The findings from Gibraltar stand in contrast opposition to results reported for experience in the United States during the 1918 flu.

Unusually small sex differentials in mortality of Israeli Jews: What does the structure of causes of death tell us?

Since the establishment of Israel sex differentials in life expectancy at birth exhibited by Israeli Jews have been very low in comparison to other developed countries as a result of relatively high male and relatively low female life expectancy. To ad

Girl Child: An Inferior Good in India

The term Sex ratio is defined “as the number of females per 1000 males in the population” (Census, 2001). It is an important social indicator to measure the extent of prevailing equity between males and females in a society at a given point of time. It is mainly the outcome of the interplay of sex differentials in mortality, sex selective migration, sex ratio at birth and at times the sex differential in population enumeration (Census, 2001). The sex ratio is an important indicator of women’s status in society. We examine whether a girl child is an “inferior” good, in that it has a negative income elasticity of demand. If that is so, the chance of a girl child being actually born would be lower than that for a male child for relatively well off households, even though the children actually born might then go on to receive equal human capital endowments.

Gender bias and economic development in India: A case study of Haryana

The present study examines the gender bias in India with particular reference to Haryana in terms of select social and demographic indicators. Despite a rapid economic transformation, Haryana lags far behind in the field of social change. The society is governed by a patriarchal structure that subjugates women in all possible ways. An abnormally large deficit of females in the population is a manifestation of this phenomenon. A general neglect of girl children and the resultant sex differentials in mortality along with a widespread practice of female foeticide in the wake of strong son-preference are indicators of persisting gender bias in the society. On the basis of correlates between the child sex ratio and select indicators, the study indicates that gender bias does not necessarily decline with improvement even in the material well-being of women. It, therefore, argues for some more radical and rapid social progress that can effectively make inroads into the pernicious effects of patriarchy.

The disappearing girl child: Possible role of sterilizations as a method of family planning

The sex ratio in India has constantly been unfavorable to women. Although the 2001 census figures show it to be marginally better than the previous census figures yet there was a marked decline in child sex ratio (0-6 years) from 945 females per 1000 males in 1991 to 927 in 2001. The anti-female bias is not limited to poor-performing states but also to better-performing states. There are a number of important demographic factors (e.g. sex composition of the previous children birth order of children and sex differentials in mortality ect.) which are responsible for this declining sex ration. A little lesser talked about factor is the possible role of sterilizations performed under the National Family Welfare Programme. The present study was aimed at finding out possible relationship of sterilizations as a method of family welfare with the declining sex ratio. (excerpt)

MORTALITY TRANSITION IN EAST ASIA

East Asia has experienced a rapid mortality decline in recent history. Its life expectancy at birth has increased by about 30 years in the last half century. This paper analyses data collected from Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Mainland China, and Taiwan. It provides a systematic examination of long-term mortality trends, their age patterns and sex differentials. While mortality transitions in these populations took place in different times and under different political systems, levels of socio-economic development and living environment, changes in their age patterns of and sex differentials in mortality have shown certain regularities. Through decomposing changes in life expectancy by age and major causes of deaths, the paper also sheds light on the relationship between epidemiological transition, changing age patterns of mortality and improving life expectancy in these populations.

Missing Girls in South Korea: Trends, Levels and Regional Variations

A large number of historical documents, proverbs, folklore and taboos show the existence of a strong preference for sons in Korea (Lee, 1973; Kim, 1969, pp. 218-374). As a result of the social and economic advantages attached to males, son preference is embedded in the traditional social organization of Korea, particularly through the kinship system and related normative culture (Kwon and Lee, 1976; Cho et al., 1982). Gender preference was so marked in traditional Korea that a wife bearing no son could be abandoned by her husband or rejected by his family. Despite rapid socioeconomic changes, son preference persists in Korea as an institutionalized value.The desire to have sons plays an important role in determining family size. Some studies have pointed out that strong son preference might impede efforts to attain low fertility (Park, 1983; Arnold, 1985; Arnold and Liu, 1986). However, this concern has proved to be groundless. In spite of a strong son preference, Korea has achieved a fertility rate way below the replacement level (1.3 in 2001), as have a number of eastern Asian countries such as China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong (UN, 2002).In the second half of the 1980s and the early 1990s, however, to accommodate both a strong son preference and low fertility, a new demographic phenomenon emerged in Korea: the rise of the male/female sex ratio at birth (i.e. excess of male births relative to female). This phenomenon of missing girls was also observed in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong (Roy, 1994; Park and Cho, 1994).The main objective of this study is to understand the origins and the mechanisms underlying the recent increase in the sex ratio at birth in Korea. We will also examine the pattern of changing trends and regional differentials in sex ratios from 1980 to 2003. Causal factors and implications of son-selective reproductive behaviour are discussed. Two demographic simulations were conducted to show how prenatal sex screening and sex-selective abortion raise the sex ratio at birth, and, at the same time, play a role in lowering the level of fertility.I. Recent trends in sex ratioThe mid-1980s can be recorded as an important turning point in the history of Korean demography. Korea has completed the full pattern of the demographic transition, and has been approaching a stationary population with negative growth potential in the offing (Kim, 1992, 2004). Despite the cultural setting of strong son preference, rapid industrialization and urbanization have led to a widespread preference for small families (Kwon and Kim, 2002). The total fertility rate (TFR) decreased sharply from about 6.0 in the early 1960s to the replacement level (2.1 children per women) in the mid-1980s and has now dropped way below the replacement level (1.19 in 2003). The crude birth rate was estimated to be as low as 10.2 in 2003. The annual growth rate of the population was estimated at 0.57% in 2003, as low as those of developed countries (KNSO, 2004). From 2020, the population of Korea is projected to decline (under the current age structure) (KNSO, 2004).With the decline in fertility to below the replacement level in the mid1980s, distortions began to emerge in the sex composition of Korean society . This new demographic phenomenon has become a serious issue. Generally speaking, the sex structure of a population is determined by three main components: sex ratio at birth, sex differentials in mortality and sexselective migration. As regards migration, it is generally agreed that the Korean population, since the late 1950s, can be regarded as an almost closed population'^1'. Furthermore, sex differentials in child mortality are not observed in Korea (Kim, 1997b). Thus, the juvenile sex ratio has basically become a function of the sex ratio at birth (Kwon et al., 1975; Kim, 1992, 2004; Park and Cho, 1994).In most countries, sex ratios at birth vary normally between 102107 males for 100 females (UN, 2002). …

Quantifying the Colonized/Colonist Relationship: Suicide as a Comparative Measure of Stress in Gibraltar

Previous articleNext article No AccessReportsQuantifying the Colonized/Colonist Relationship: Suicide as a Comparative Measure of Stress in Gibraltar1L.A.Sawchuk, JanetPadiak, and JohnD.PurcellL.A.SawchukDepartment of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus, 1265 Military Trail, Scarborough, ON, Canada M1C 1A4 ([email protected]) 30 vi 03 Search for more articles by this author , JanetPadiakDepartment of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus, 1265 Military Trail, Scarborough, ON, Canada M1C 1A4 ([email protected]) 30 vi 03 Search for more articles by this author , and JohnD.PurcellDepartment of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus, 1265 Military Trail, Scarborough, ON, Canada M1C 1A4 ([email protected]) 30 vi 03 Search for more articles by this author Department of Anthropology, University of Toronto, Scarborough Campus, 1265 Military Trail, Scarborough, ON, Canada M1C 1A4 ([email protected]) 30 vi 03PDFPDF PLUSFull Text Add to favoritesDownload CitationTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints Share onFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail SectionsMoreDetailsFiguresReferencesCited by Current Anthropology Volume 45, Number 1February 2004 Sponsored by the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research Article DOIhttps://doi.org/10.1086/381009 Views: 44Total views on this site Citations: 1Citations are reported from Crossref 2004 by The WennerGren Foundation for Anthropological Research. All rights reserved PDF download Crossref reports the following articles citing this article:L.A. Sawchuk Brief communication: Rethinking the impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic on sex differentials in mortality, American Journal of Physical Anthropology 139, no.44 (Aug 2009): 584–590.https://doi.org/10.1002/ajpa.21022