According
to figures provided by the World Health Organization, the life expectancy for
UK men is 79 years. On average women can expect to live 3 years longer and new
research reveals that the reason for this is all in the blood.
The
research was conducted at the Tokyo Medical and Dental University. Scientists
took blood samples from 356 men and women, aged between 20 and 90, and counted
the amount of white blood cells and cytokines (immune system signaling molecules). It was found that the level reduced with age,
for both sexes, but in men the rate of decline of T-cell and B-cell lymphocytes
was much higher—these lymphocytes have a significant role to play in the human
immune system.
The samples
also revealed that in men the two cytokines, IL-6 and IL-10 also showed a more
rapid rate of decline.
The human
immune system relies on CD4 T-cells to destroy bacteria that invade the body.
The amount of these increases with age, but in women the increase was shown to
be much faster than in men.
After
completion of all the tests the scientists concluded that, ‘Age-related changes
in various immunological parameters differ between men and women. Our findings
indicate that the slower rate of decline in these immunological parameters in
women than in men is consistent with the fact that women live longer than do
men.’
More on
this story at the Mail Online: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2324783/Women-live-longer-men-immune-systems-age-slowly.html
