Korean Men Choosing 'Extreme Measures'... Impact on Gender Life Expectancy Gap

Life Expectancy: Men 80.5 Years, Women 86.5 Years
Lung Cancer, Heart Disease, and Intentional Self-Harm Impact

The life expectancy gap between men and women has decreased from 8.6 years in 1985 to 6 years in 2020, with lung cancer being cited as a major cause of this difference.

The life expectancy gap between men and women is gradually narrowing... The main cause of the 2020 gap is 'lung cancer'

[Photo by Yonhap News]

According to the 'Statistics Plus Spring Issue' published by Statistics Korea on the 27th, life expectancy for men increased by 21.8 years over 51 years, from 58.7 years in 1970 to 80.5 years in 2020, while for women it increased by 20.7 years during the same period, from 65.8 years to 86.5 years.

The gap in life expectancy between men and women was 7.1 years in 1970, gradually increased to reach a peak of 8.5 years in 1985, and then began to decline, reaching 6 years in 2020.

In particular, although the degree varies across all age groups, it was found that men maintain a higher mortality rate than women.

Also, until the 2000s, the greatest contribution to the life expectancy gap occurred in the 60s age group, but since 2010, the contribution has been notably higher in those aged 70 and above.

As for the causes influencing the life expectancy gap between men and women, circulatory system diseases (such as angina and myocardial infarction) have decreased, while neoplastic diseases (such as cancer) have increased. The contribution of neoplasms was the largest at 2.14 years (35.7%), followed by respiratory system diseases (such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, 0.99 years, 16.5%), and external causes of morbidity and mortality (0.98 years, 16.4%).

In 2020, lung cancer, pneumonia, heart disease, intentional self-harm (suicide), and liver cancer influenced the life expectancy gap between men and women. Notably, the contribution of lung cancer has remained consistently high since 2000.

In 1985, liver, cerebrovascular, hypertensive diseases, and liver cancer were the main contributors to the life expectancy gap, while in 2000, liver disease, lung cancer, transport accidents, liver cancer, and cerebrovascular diseases were analyzed as the primary contributors.

Thus, cerebrovascular diseases and liver cancer have been identified as major factors influencing the life expectancy gap regardless of the observation period.

The contribution of intentional self-harm has also increased

Additionally, the contribution of intentional self-harm has relatively increased compared to before. Since 1998, suicide rates have shown a higher proportion among men than women, and this gap widened further in the 2010s.

According to the National Statistical Portal (KOSIS) of Statistics Korea, the suicide rates per 100,000 population in 2000 were 19.0 for men and 8.4 for women, but by 2010, they increased to 41.4 for men and 21.0 for women, with the gap reaching 20.4.

In 2020, the rates were 35.5 for men and 15.9 for women, with a gap of 19.6. Although this is a slight decrease compared to 2010, the gap remains close to 20.

Many studies have shown that suicidal ideation and attempts are higher among women, but men tend to use more extreme methods when attempting suicide compared to women.

※ If you have difficult-to-talk-about concerns such as depression, or if you have family or acquaintances experiencing such difficulties, you can receive 24-hour professional counseling through the Suicide Prevention Hotline 1393, Mental Health Counseling 1577-0199, Lifeline 1588-9191, Youth Hotline 1388, Youth Mobile Counseling app 'Da Deureojul Gae', KakaoTalk, and other services.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.