Exploring Life Expectancy: Why Do Women Live Longer Than Men?

Host: Lauren Streicher, MD Guest: Marianne Legato, MD Women account for 85 percent of the people in the industrialized world who have reached 100 years of age. What accounts for the longer lifespan of women? Dr. Marianne Legato, founder of the Partnership for Gender-Specific Medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, talks with host Dr. Lauren Streicher about the significance of gender on life span. They discuss the roles that biology, lifestyle, and social factors play in longevity, and probe whether social changes in the industrialized world may be closing the gap.