Gender differences in health and mortality

This paper analyses the determinants of IPT in Uganda using data from the 2009 Uganda Malaria Indicator Survey. A total of 1464 women who had had a birth in the two years before the survey are a basis of the analysis. Binary logistic regression model was used to find out factors that have an effect on women taking two doses of sulfadoxine pyrimethamine while pregnant. Most of the respondents had primary education (63.8%), aged 20-24 (33.1%) and lived in rural areas (87.9%).The study found that IPT up-take varied by education level, occupation and wealth index. Girls’ access to education and employment opportunities outside the home to increase their incomes will help increase IPT up-take from the current levels of 32%. Also, fansidar should be made especially in public health facilities so that it is made available for women at ANC.

It has been a long accepted demographic maxim that females outlive males. Using data for England and Wales, we show that life expectancy at age 30 is converging and continuation of this long-term trend suggests it could reach parity in 2030. Key among the reasons identified for the narrowing of the gap are differences in smoking prevalence between males and females which have narrowed considerably. Using data from 30 comparator countries gender differences in smoking prevalence are found to explain over 75% of the variance in the life expectancy gap, but other factors such as female emancipation and better health care are also considered. The paper presents a model which considers differences in male and female longevity in greater detail using novel methods for analysing life tables. It considers the ages from which death is being postponed to the ages at which people now die; the relative speed at which these changes are taking place between genders; how the changes observed are affecting survival prospects at different ages up to 2030. It finds that as life expectancy continues to rise there is evidence for convergence in the oldest ages to which either gender will live.

This paper analyses the transition in mortality sex differentials in India and in its selected constitutent States using the life tables prepared on the basis of the Sample Registration System during the period 1970 through 2010. Mortality sex differentials in India are widening and getting more and more favourable to females. The paper attempts to answer whther the widening of female-male differentials in mortality in India and in its constitutent State is due to a change in the mortality sex ratios or is due to the transition in the age pattern of mortality in males and females. The paper also discusses policy and programme implications of the transition in mortality sex differentisl.

This study assesses the trends in child malnutrition by older surviving sibling composition during 1992-2007 in three South Asian countries, namely Bangladesh, India and Nepal. This study utilizes data from three rounds of Demographic and Health Surveys and considers weight-for-age as an indicator of child malnutrition based on 2006 WHO Standards. Combinations of sex composition of surviving older siblings were constructed. Cochran-Armitage and Chi squared statistics were applied to test linear and nonlinear trends respectively. Although child malnutrition declined during 1992-2007, result show an unacceptably higher prevalence of malnutrition in India (40%), followed by Bangladesh (37%) and Nepal (35%). Malnutrition has been lowest among boys and girls who did not have any older surviving siblings. However, the highest malnutrition was observed among those boys and girls who had at least one older surviving brother and sister. Findings confirm that not all girls and boys are treated equally, and there is a clear pattern of selective neglect in child malnutrition during 1992-2007.

If the omission/misreporting of ages of male/female children is assumed to be equal, child sex ratio is the result of sex ratio at birth and sex differential in mortality. This study aims to understand the impact of both the sex ratio at birth and sex differential in mortality on the change in child sex ratio during 2001-2011 in India and its major states. The result shows that in 2011, at the national level, the skewed child sex ratio could be explained due to distortion in sex ratio at birth by two-thirds and in high female child mortality by about one-third. Whereas, in 2001, the contribution of sex ratio at birth was two-fifths and the contribution of high female child mortality was three-fifths towards determining the child sex ratio.

We assess the changing age pattern of mortality in India and bigger states by applying a mortality model during 1970-2006. Using survey data from India and a two dimensional system of model life table, we provide further evidence about changes in country and state-level patterns mortality differentials by sex and assess the potential role of major causes of death. We also study the contribution of major causes of death to the female-male mortality gap. The preliminary findings confirm that since the 1980s, health advantage of the Indian females against males has been growing. This occurred despite persisting female disadvantage below age 5. The biggest contribution to the life expectancy gap between females and males in the second half of the 1990s came from non-communicable diseases and external causes of death. We also found a notable geographical variation in sex-specific mortality patterns. While more advanced states showed female longevity advantages already in the 1970s, the laggard states displayed similar mortality levels for males and females even during the most recent periods. In order to better understand the path and timing of health transition and its determinants in India, it is necessary to consider changing sex-specific mortality patterns and their geographical diversity.

Female advantage in life expectancy in India is glaring. In this study we examine the gender differences in life expectancy and life disparity and estimated age specific mortality contribution in the gender differences. Complete life tables generated from data on death rates and abridged life tables from 1970-75 through 2006-10 from Sample Registration System (SRS) in India are used to estimate life expectancy at age x (ex), life disparity at age x (e+), threshold age at death and evaluate age with extremal impact on life disparity. General stepwise replacement algorithm is used for decomposition of both the indicators. The results indicate that the average increase in life expectancy and average decline in life disparity is higher for females. Higher threshold age at death among females resulted in increasing life disparity among males and decreasing life disparity among females for the similar age. The age having extremal impact on life disparity is higher for females. The decomposition analysis shows that the recent gender difference in life expectancy is attributed to negative contribution of adult mortality in India and difference in life disparity is attributed to positive contribution of adult mortality.

Most research findings agree that women have higher levels of depression or anomia than men. These conclusions are derived from general population samples in industrialized western countries. However, contemporary Chinese society is undergoing two major structural changes: gender imbalance and population migration. This paper studies the factors that determine anomia and its gender difference among rural migrant worker in the context of gender imbalance and large scale population migration in China.
Multivariate analyses of data from a survey of rural migrant workers in X city, Fujian province, which was conducted in 2009, show that gender, marital status, social role and characteristics related to family support have significant influences on anomia among rural migrant workers; men have higher levels of anomia than women; unmarried people, especially older unmarried people, have higher levels of anomia than married people, but there is little gender difference in the influence of marital status on anomia. There are gender differences in the influence of social role and characteristics related to family support on anomia.

Female accounted for more than 50% of the world population and workforce. However women are not treated equally as man. There is an actual situation that the phenomenon of women being beaten, abused...is still common nowadays. While gender development index of Vietnam was 0.7 ranking 94 out of 155 countries but gender disparities remained in several areas and among vulnerable population. This paper will focus on status of gender inequality in income and education special in ethnic minorities (EM) group in Thai Nguyen mountainous province of Vietnam and explore associated factors. This study uses data from a population-based survey conducted by the Institute of Population, Health and Development in collaboration with The Population Council in Thai Nguyen. 2,695 individuals in 2,490 households who have completed the interviews were used in analyses. Weights were applied and svy procedures in STATA were used in analysis to deal with the complex design. The results of study show that female have income lower than male. From this survey we also explore that male have higher education than female and Kinh woman also have higher education than EM woman. But female have health better than male in both groups. This study will make recommendations for building appropriate intervention programs for the gender equality for the EM in Vietnam

We analyzed the weight of Avoidable mortality (AM) in Mexico and its evolution between 2001-2010, taking into account the differences in degree of state marginalization, in gender and their contribution to the years of life lost (YLL). Data comes from the mortality registries from INEGI in Mexico and the marginalization index from CONAPO. We calculated the mortality rates and the YLL proposed by Arriaga using the AM criteria of Nolte and McKee. Mortality rates due to avoidable causes were higher for groups with the highest degree of marginalization. The poorest states lost more YLL between 2001-2010 due to these causes of death. Men had the highest mortality rates due to AM. Women increased their life-years, mainly due to the reduction of deaths due to cervical cancer, maternal deaths and perinatal deaths. These results show wide disparities in the magnitude and impact of AM by groups of state marginalization and gender.
Key words: avoidable mortality, state marginalization index, Mexico, mortality rates, years of life lost