|
The failure of men to become actively engaged in the
health care system takes a toll at early ages, but the
trend accelerates as men near retirement. It is
expected that men will enter Medicare in poorer
health than women, creating an unequal burden on
the health care system. The effect of poor health
habits, adverse socialization, and lack of access to
health care is reflected in higher mortality among aging men and the male-female ratio in later years.
This leaves older women more likely to live in poverty and alone, and to rely on public assistance.
The U.S. Administration on Aging has found that more than one-half the elderly widows now living in
poverty were not poor before the death of their husbands. Other data reflect on the poor health of aging
men and the effect it has on spouses and loved ones:
- Compared with men, older women are three times more likely to be living alone... are nearly twice as
likely to reside in a nursing home, and are more than twice as likely to live in poverty. (U.S.
Administration on Aging)
- Of the more than 9 million older persons
living alone, 80% are women (Meeting the
Needs of Older Women: A Diverse and
Growing Population, The Many Faces of
Aging, U.S. Administration on Aging)
- Since women live longer, and tend to marry
men older than themselves, 7 out of 10
"baby boom" women will outlive their husbands - many can expect to be widows for 15 to 20 years.
Fewer women living with partners in 2000 than in 1990
The increase in life expectancy over the past several decades has been dramatic, but life expectancy
has been increasing at different rates for the genders, and we need to determine why. This difference in
life expectancy increase has resulted in fewer women living with partners in 2000 than in 1990. Males
outnumber females at birth 105 - 100, but by age 34, there are more women than men and this trend
accelerates with age. By retirement, there are fewer than 80 men for every 100 women.
|
|
