Scientists have found why men, on average, die earlier than women

Science magazine has a new studyHematopoietic loss of Y chromosome leads to cardiac fibrosis and heart failure mortality about why men's lives are on average shorter than women's. In Russia, the gap between life expectancy is 10 years: about 77 for women and about 67 for men.

Doctors suggested that men die earlier because the Y-chromosome disappears from some cells of the body with age. This process occurs faster in constantly renewing cells - for example, blood.

When cells without Y chromosomes reach the heart, it can cause tissue scarring, which in turn leads to heart failure. It is one of the most common causes of death in old age.

By words study author Kenneth Walsh, "especially after the age of 60, men die faster than women, as if biologically aging faster."

All humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes. 22 of them are paired autosomes, the same in men and women. But the 23rd pair consists of sex chromosomes that are different for different sexes. These are the XX chromosomes in women and the combination of XY in men.

To prove the theory in their study, the authors used CRISPR gene editing technology. With her help, they removed the Y chromosomes from the bone marrow cells of male mice - so they had leukocytes without a Y chromosome. Some of them got into the heart and contributed to the formation of scars.

As a result, the mice developed heart failure - and they died earlier than expected.

To see if these findings could be applied to humans, the researchers analyzed data from the British Biobank. Biologists have found that the loss of the Y chromosome is indeed associated with higher rates of heart disease and an increased risk of death. And the process of the disappearance of the chromosome was explained by the accumulation of mutations in the DNA of cells as they age.

But the scientists also have good news: when mice were treated with drugs that block the activity of white blood cells, cardiac dysfunction was reduced. These findings raise the possibility that treating men for fibrosis (tissue scarring) may have a positive effect on life expectancy.

Further research will be needed to draw more concrete conclusions. They will allow a better understanding of how and what drugs can reduce the impact of the loss of Y chromosomes on the human body.