Abstract
This research aims to further current understanding of gender differences in old age
mortality. In particular, it assesses the relative importance of health behavior and
baseline health conditions in predicting the risk of dying, and how their effects
differ between elderly men and women. Data for this research came from a prospective
study of a national sample of 2,200 older adults in Japan from 1987 to 1999. Hazard
rate models were employed to ascertain the interaction effects involving gender and
health behavior (i.e., smoking and drinking) and baseline health status. Gender differences
in old age mortality in the Japanese are quite pronounced throughout all of our models.
In addition, interaction effects of gender and smoking, functional limitation, and
cognitive impairment, indicate that females in Japan suffer more from these risk factors
than do their male counterparts. Failure to adjust for population heterogeneity may
lead to a significant underestimation of female advantage in survival. The inclusion
of health behavior and health status measures only offsets a limited proportion of
this gender differential. The increased mortality risk due to smoking, functional
limitation, and cognitive impairment among elderly Japanese women suggests that narrowing
of gender gap in mortality may be due to not only changes in the levels of these risk
factors but also their differential effects on men and women.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Accepted:
February 12,
2003
Received in revised form:
February 6,
2003
Received:
February 28,
2002
Identification
Copyright
© 2003 Elsevier Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
