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

Staetsky, Laura; Hinde, Andrew

doi:10.4054/demres.2009.20.11

Cited by 15 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…In the study reported in this paper, I investigated the contribution of smoking, first by quantifying the impact of smoking-related mortality and, subsequently, by comparing the levels and trends in smoking-related and smoking-free mortality among Israeli Jews with similar trends in other populations. Staetsky and Hinde (2009) pointed to the possibility that the moderate impact of smoking-related mortality could contribute to an explanation of both the low mortality of men and the small sex differential in mortality exhibited by Israeli Jews. The effect of smoking-related mortality in this population has not so far been quantified, though several authors have remarked on the low incidence of mortality from cancers associated with smoking, such as lung and aerodigestive cancer, among Israeli Jewish men (Rakower 1957;Rennert et al 1988Rennert et al , 1990Lopez 1995;Staetsky and Hinde 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…Staetsky and Hinde (2009) pointed to the possibility that the moderate impact of smoking-related mortality could contribute to an explanation of both the low mortality of men and the small sex differential in mortality exhibited by Israeli Jews. The effect of smoking-related mortality in this population has not so far been quantified, though several authors have remarked on the low incidence of mortality from cancers associated with smoking, such as lung and aerodigestive cancer, among Israeli Jewish men (Rakower 1957;Rennert et al 1988Rennert et al , 1990Lopez 1995;Staetsky and Hinde 2009). These observations were all the more surprising in view of findings that the proportion of Israeli Jewish men who smoked regularly was similar to that of men in the USA and the UK, both countries with relatively high mortality from lung cancer (Central Bureau of Statistics, Israel 1973;Forey et al 2002;Misrad haBriut, Medinat Israel 2003Baron-Epel et al 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The higher mortality of Israeli Jewish women has been shown by previous research to be associated with elevated death rates from cardiovascular diseases and cancer (Rakower 1957;Kark 1976; Thom et al 1985;Peritz 1986;Ore et al 1991;Eisenbach 1994;Friedlander et al 1995;Manor et al 2000Manor et al , 2004Althuis et al 2005;World Health Organisation 2006a;Staetsky andHinde 2008, 2009). The lower mortality of Israeli Jewish men at older ages was evident across a wide range of causes (Thom et al 1985;World Health Organisation 1996, 2006aStaetsky and Hinde 2009), and explained in part by a low level of 'avoidable' (that is behaviourally induced) mortality (Rakower 1957;Lopez et al 1994;World Health Organisation 1996, 2006aStaetsky and Hinde 2009).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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

Staetsky

2011

Population Studies

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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.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

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

Staetsky

2011

Population Studies

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“…Another Danish study showed that the impact of smoking on life expectancy and health expectancy was present irrespective of educational level and that the social gap in expected lifetime in good health was widest among female heavy smokers and much larger than for male heavy smokers (Brønnum-Hansen and Juel 2004). Smaller sex differentials in life expectancy at birth among Israeli Jews compared to the populations in Western countries were mainly due to lower mortality among Israeli men for causes of death related to lifestyle behavior: lung and aerodigestive cancer, liver cirrhosis, and external causes (Staetsky and Hinde 2009). These findings point toward the end of the modern epidemic of CHD and lung cancer for men described by Morris (1955) and emphasize the importance of genderspecific lifestyle behavior in explaining sex differences in health and mortality.…”

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confidence: 92%

Gender gap in health expectancy

2010

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Men have higher death rates than women, but women do worse with regard to physical strength, disability, and other health outcomes, the so called malefemale health-survival paradox. The paradox is likely to be due to multiple causes that include biological, behavioral, and social differences between the sexes. Despite decades of research on the male-female health-survival paradox, we still do not fully recognize whether behavioral factors explain most of the gender gap or whether biological and social differences contribute more substantially to the explanation of the sex differences in health and mortality. Little work has been done to investigate the magnitude of sex differences in healthy life expectancy and unhealthy life expectancy, as well as to examine the contribution of mortality and disability levels to the sex gap in health expectancy. The five selected works presented at the Réseau Espérance de Vie en Santé (REVES) Meeting 2009 in Copenhagen, and published in this issue, provide new insights into sex differences in health expectancy. The papers examine sex differences in health expectancy indicators in the EU countries, as well as trends in health expectancy in Hong Kong and in the US. They go beyond description of sex differences in health expectancy and assess the contributions of mortality and disability to gender differences in healthy life years and unhealthy life years, investigate temporal changes in sex differential health expectancy, as well as analyze contributions of time and age dimensions to the gender gap. They also show that there is still work to be done to indentify and quantify mechanisms underlying sex differences in longevity, health, and aging.Men die, women suffer: that is what is called the malefemale health paradox (Nathanson 1975;Wingard 1984;Waldron 1995;Case and Paxson 2005;Barford et al. 2006;Oksuzyan et al. 2008). At all ages male death rates are higher than that of females indicating that in terms of mortality women are healthier than men. However, women do worse with regard to disability and other health outcomes (Jagger et al. 2008;Schön and Parker 2008;Christensen et al. 2009;Crimmins et al. 2010). What are recent developments of sex differences in mortality, life expectancy, and health expectancy? Is the gender gap after several decades of increasing trends now decreasing? What are the reasons for these changes?In 1955 Jeff N. Morris showed that in the second half of the nineteenth century in United Kingdom (UK), the death rates were high and increasing among middle-aged individuals (Morris 1955). Men had only about 10% higher death rates than their same-aged female counterparts. Thereafter, due to improved living conditions death rates began to fall from 1900 and continued to decline until the 1920s. From the 1920s, trends in mortality diverged by sexes: improvements in mortality rates stagnated among men, whereas they continued to decline among women. In Communicated by Dorly

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“…Some authors have attempted to determine the relative contributions of the two causal categories and concluded that it is the acquired risks which are mainly responsible for the differences in life expectancy between women and men [6,8,9]. The strongest support for this inference comes from studies demonstrating that male excess mortality is significantly lower in groups of individuals among whom men's and women's lifestyles and social environments are more homogeneous than in the total population, such as non-smokers [10], Mormons [11], Seventh-Day Adventists [12], Old Order Amish [13], kibbutz members [14], members of Roman-Catholic orders [7], Israeli Jews [15] and the traditionally living inhabitants of an isolated upland bog in Ireland [16] as well as an old village in Sardinia [17]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Do Women Live Longer or Do Men Die Earlier? Reflections on the Causes of Sex Differences in Life Expectancy

Luy

Gast²

2013

Gerontology

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Background: Although many different factors have been identified to contribute to excess male mortality, it is still unclear which path of the complex cause-effect chain is the decisive driver of the life expectancy gap between women and men. Objective: The question behind this study is whether these sex differences are caused primarily by factors leading to low female mortality or rather by factors causing high male mortality. We hypothesise that they are to a large extent caused by specific subpopulations of men with particularly high mortality levels that decrease the average life expectancy of men. Methods: To test this hypothesis, we investigate in a meta-analysis the variability in mortality (VM) in women and men - defined as the range of death rates prevailing among subpopulations - in empirical studies analysing specific phenomena of mortality differentials. We used the data of 72 empirical studies, including 146 total effects (TE) and 1,718 single effects (SE) for 21 different risk factors. Results: In 85% of TE and three quarters of SE the VM was higher in men than in women, taking into account men's higher overall mortality. The corresponding figures for the direct differences in the VM between women and men are 92 and 82%, respectively. Cases with higher female VM are rare exceptions and appear in particular in the highest age groups. Conclusions: We find support for our hypothesis that the disproportionate high mortality levels of specific male subpopulations are the central cause of the current extent of sex differences in life expectancy. Thus, public health programmes should be targeted toward these disadvantaged subpopulations among men which seem to be related primarily to socioeconomic characteristics.

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

Cited by 15 publications

References 77 publications

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

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

Gender gap in health expectancy

Do Women Live Longer or Do Men Die Earlier? Reflections on the Causes of Sex Differences in Life Expectancy

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