HPC-UK Bitesize (Health) Why Women Outlive Men?…

Women's immune systems age more slowly than men's, and this slower decline in a woman's immune system may contribute to women living longer than men.

Researchers looked at the blood of healthy volunteers in Japan, ranging in age between 20 and 90 years old; in both sexes the total number of white blood cells per person decreased with age. The number of neutrophils decreased for both sexes and lymphocytes decreased in men and increased in women. Younger men generally have higher levels of lymphocytes than similarly aged women, so as ageing happens, the number of lymphocytes becomes comparable.

The study also suggests that the rate in decline in T cells and B cells was slower for women than men. Both CD4+ T cells and NK cells increased with age, and the rate of increase was higher in women than men. Similarly an age-related decline in IL-6 and IL-10 was worse in men. There was also an age-dependent decrease in red blood cells for men but not women.

This difference in the ageing of immune systems between men and women is one of many processes which alter as we grow older, and the process of ageing is different for men and women for many reasons; one of which is the sex hormones, which affect the immune system, especially certain types of lymphocytes.

The lead researcher Prof Katsuiku Hirokawa postulates that because people age at different rates a person's immunological parameters could be used to provide an indication of their true biological age.

I’ve covered the main elements involved in ageing in previous posts which you can find by following the links provided here:

http://humanperformanceconsulting-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/elixir-of-life.html

http://humanperformanceconsulting-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/05/who-wants-to-live-forever.html

http://humanperformanceconsulting-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/hayflick-unlimited-part-1.html

http://humanperformanceconsulting-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/breath-of-fire.html

http://humanperformanceconsulting-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/09/in-pace-ut-sapiens-aptarit-idonea-bello.html

http://humanperformanceconsulting-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/10/demolition-man.html

http://humanperformanceconsulting-uk.blogspot.co.uk/2011/11/tame-flame.html

Reference:

Katsuiku Hirokawa, Masanori Utsuyama, Yoshio Hayashi, Masanobu Kitagawa, Takashi Makinodan and Tamas Fulop. Slower immune system aging in women versus men in the Japanese population. Immunity & Ageing, 2013; 10: 19