Ageing in Men Vs Women

Ageing in Men vs. Women – How different!

Throughout history, men have lived shorter than women almost at every era and in every place.

Today, men make up about 25% of world’s centenarian population (people ages 100 and older)and only about 10%of the 560 known-living super centenarians (people ages 110 and older) [1].

Indeed, if you look at the list of 100 oldest living people who have been verified to be alive, you can easily count only eight men.

The oldest one,Masazō Nonaka (born 25 July 1905), shares his inglorious 20th place with Katerina Kornarou.

Currently, the world’s oldest verified living person is a Japanese woman, Kane Tanaka (born 2 January 1903) [2], and the longest living human ever documented was again women, Jeanne Calment (1875-1997)who lived 122 years and 164 days [1]  although there are some controversies about her date of birth.  

Ok, men live shorter than women do.

But, does it necessarily mean that men age faster than women and are there any differences in ageing process between them?

General experts’ opinion is that women do not live longer than men because they somehow age more slowly, but rather because men are less robust at every age.

Overall mortality rate in women is lower at every age, even in childhood.

In addition, at almost every age, men die at a higher rate from all the most common causes of death such as accidents, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, cancer, flu, pneumonia and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease[1].

Although it is hard to explain on a mechanistic level why women are more robust than men as for now there are only hypothesis[1, 3], it is known for sure that ageing differently affects both genders.

Some of these very evident differences are described in further text.

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Average life expectancy of men vs. women

In most nations around the world, men have shorter life expectancies compared to women.

This gender gap is most evident in high-income industrialized countries[3].

According to the World Health Organization (WHO):

  • On average, men live 7–8 years shorter than women.
  • In some countries of the former Soviet Union, women’s life expectancy advantage can be as great as 12–13 years
  • In most developed countries, the average difference in life expectancyis between 5 and 8 years.
  • A few developing countries have higher man life expectancy than woman, but, on average, the woman advantage in most developing countries is slightly less than 5 years.
  • The gender gap is generally projected to increase in developing countries and decrease in developed countries.
  • By the year 2050, it is expected that women’s life-expectancy advantage will be approximately 5 years. Women in Africa are expected to have a life-expectancy advantage of 4.3 years; women in Asia 4.4 years; women in Latin America 5.5 years; women in North America 5.6 years; and women in Europe 6.2 years[4].

In England and Wales, life expectancy at birth for men was 79.5 years in 2012 and for women it was 83.3 years[5].

Sex hormones in men and women: Andropause vs. Menopause

Andropause is a term for the biological impact of decreasing free testosterone levels in older men.

It has significant clinical implications to the ageing related reductions in physical (aerobic) capacity, diminution in muscle strength and mass, decline in bone mineral density, decline in psychological well-being, and impairment in libido and sexual function.

However, despite the predictable decline in most individuals as age increases, serum total testosterone levels in the majority of men remain within the normal range.

Approximately 20% of men 60–80 years old and 33% of men over the age of 80 have serum testosterone levels below the normal range for young adult men[4].

Menopause represents the unavoidable final hallmark of a woman’s fertile lifespan.

It is characterised with sudden loss of ovarian oestrogen and progesterone production, which further induces pathophysiological changes in different organs and systems.

Menopause, affects various women’s health aspects, including bone density, immune system, cardiovascular health, breast cellular composition, mood/cognitive function and sexual well being.

In addition, various studies have reported an association between late-onset menopause and reduction in all causes of morbidity and mortality.

If the current trend of increasing human life expectancy continues, women are going to spend half of their life in post-menopause[6].

So, for men, ageing brings gradual hormonal changes whereas for women these changes are sudden.

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Skin of ageing men vs. women

We all know how attractiveness and beauty play an important role in modern human society.

Youth and symmetry, as well as smooth skin texture and pigmentation mainly characterise facial attractiveness.

However, ageing strongly affects these parameters.

One of the most noticeable morphologic changes affected by ageing is the development of facial wrinkles.

It is commonly accepted that the combination of several different mechanisms may lead to skin ageing, such astelomere shortening, oxidative stress, mitochondrial dysfunction, and various genetic mechanisms. Along with these inner-body molecular mechanisms, environmental influences, in particular solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation also triggers skin ageing[7].

Findings showed progressive increase in crow’s feet and forehead and glabellar lines during one’s lifetime.

The strongest increase in wrinkle severity was found in the fifth decade of life.

At this point, age wrinkles become not only deeper, but also wider, resulting in a higher volume and therefore in greater clinical visibility.

By the age of 50, crow’s feet and forehead and glabellar wrinkles affect both sexes.

Men develop wrinkles earlier and more prominently than women, especially forehead lines, which are already marked in their 20s.

Being perimenopausal, which refers to the time during which women’s body makes the natural transition to menopause, may cause accelerated development of facial wrinkles, although the effect of menopause on skin wrinkling is not yet fully understood[7].

According to above-stated, it is obvious why the cosmetic industry targets women more with anti-ageing preparations.

There is a high society pressure to stay young. 

Hair loss in ageing men vs. women

All men and women will lose some hair more or less, as they grow older.

The most common cause of hair loss is a pattern hair loss, also known as androgenetic alopecia.

It is a genetically predetermined disorder due to excessive response to androgen hormones.

Although both genders are susceptible to this condition, women seem to be more resilient and less affected.

In men, the incidence approximates the age.

About 50% of Caucasian men will be affected by the age of 50 years and up to 80%by the age of 70 years.

In women, the incidence of hair loss progresses after menopause[8].

According to some estimations,pattern hair loss affects 30-40% of the women population between 60 and 69 years old[9].

In men, hair loss is most visible in the vertex and frontotemporal regions, while in women the frontal hairline is typically spared with diffuse apical hair loss noted as a wider anterior part of the hair.

In both genders, it is not known how far pattern baldness will progress[8].

But why do some people lose more hair than others?

It is all in genetics. There is a familiar predisposition to:

  1. Higher production of dihydrotestosterone, a more potent form of testosterone and/or
  2. Higher levels of 5 alpha-reductase enzyme that converts testosterone into dihydrotestosterone and/or
  3. Higher number of androgen receptors in balding scalp.

Excessive activation of androgen receptors via dihydrotestosterone leads to follicular miniaturisation resulting in thinner and shorter hair follicles, which in the end may not even penetrate through the skin[8].

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Weight gain in ageing men vs. women

Ageing is also known to be associated with alterations in body weight that have an important impact on health.

Weight gain leads to visceral fat gain and ageing is associated with the accumulation and shift of fat from the periphery (i.e. face, arms, and legs) to a more central located fat deposition, particularly the viscera.

Studies have shown that fat distributed in the visceral adipose tissue is related to the development of diabetes, heart disease and several types cancers, as well as increased mortality.

The increase in visceral fat gain is dramatic in women, almost 400% between the ages of 25 and 65 years, whiles in men is similar in absolute terms but not so dramatic proportionately, slightly more than 200% during for the same time period[10].

Low levels of testosterone in men and the menopause decline in oestrogens and progesterone production in women are associated with increased visceral fat.

Another factor that most certainly contributes to the age related increase in visceral fat is a loss of muscle, which affects both genders.

Studies showed that weight gain and muscle loss have a cumulative effect on fat mass gain with the older men and women increasing fat mass by 22 pounds, a 75% increase for the women and a 71% increase for the men[10].

Do you feel any of the ageing signs as described in this article?

If you do and want to receive professional support.

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Conclusion

The purpose of every ageing research is to identify treats and possible interventions in order to avoid or ameliorate health issues that ageing brings[11].

Healthy anti-aging diets plan and habits, regular check-ups, physical exercises and skin care regimens may certainly help you to stay healthy, be active and look younger as you age.

Although, claims of miraculous remedies and therapies to overcome ageing run rampant, many of these products have no effects at all or for some of them years of further research are needed to prove their benefits.

Nevertheless, the harsh truth may be that all living organisms have evolved over millions of years and have been optimised through evolution to only ensure proliferation and survival of the species, rather than a long lifespan for the individual[12].

References:

1. Austad SN. Why women live longer than men: sex differences in longevity. Gender Medicine. 2006;3(2):79-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1550-8579(06)80198-1

2. Wikipedia contributors. List of oldest living people. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 19 June 2018, at 02:54 UTC.Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_living_people. Accessed September27, 2018.

3. Austad SN, Bartke A. Sex Differences in Longevity and in Responses toAnti-Ageing Interventions: A Mini-Review. Gerontology. 2015;62(1):40-6. https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/381472

4. World Health Organization. (‎2001)‎. Men, ageing and health: achieving health across the life span. Geneva : World Health Organization.
http://www.who.int/iris/handle/10665/66941

5. Bennett JE, Li G, Foreman K, et al. The future of life expectancy and life expectancy inequalities in England and Wales: Bayesian spatiotemporal forecasting. Lancet (London, England). 2015;386(9989):163-170. https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60296-3/fulltext

6. Ostan R, Monti D, Gueresi P, Bussolotto M, Franceschi C, Baggio G. Gender, ageing and longevity in humans: an update of an intriguing/neglected scenario paving the way to a gender-specific medicine. Clinical Science (London, England : 1979). 2016;130(19):1711-1725. http://www.clinsci.org/content/130/19/1711

7. Luebberding S, Krueger N, Kerscher M. Quantification of age-related facialwrinkles in men and women using a three-dimensional fringe projection method and validated assessment scales. Dermatologic Surgery. 2014;40(1):22-32. https://insights.ovid.com/pubmed?pmid=24267416

8. Ho CH, Hughes J. Alopecia, Androgenetic. 2018 Apr 26. StatPearls [Internet].Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2018 Jan-. Available from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK430924/Accessed September29, 2018.

9. Herskovitz I, Tosti A. Female Pattern Hair Loss. International Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism. 2013;11(4):e9860. http://endometabol.com/en/articles/17638.html

10. Hunter GR, Gower BA, Kane BL. Age Related Shift in Visceral Fat. International journal of body composition research. 2010;8(3):103-108.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4018766/

11. De Cabo R, Carmona-Gutierrez D, Bernier M, Hall MN, Madeo F. The search for anti-ageing interventions: From elixirs to fasting regimens. Cell. 2014;157(7):1515-1526. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2014.05.031

12. Rattan SIS. Anti-ageing strategies: prevention or therapy? EMBO Reports. 2005;6(Suppl 1):S25-S29. http://embor.embopress.org/content/6/S1/S25

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