The oldest and youngest members of society have the highest death rates under normal circumstances. However, under conditions of famine and cold, this trend increases. Children don't have the ability to conserve food and energy that adults do. Older people don't have a metabolism as responsive to the cold as younger adults. Normally, males die at a younger age than women.
Men also have a higher death rate than women at all ages.
Females are generally smaller and have a higher proportion of body fat and a lower basal metabolism than males. This is key when coping under conditions of severe cold or famine. However, he added that traditional sex roles and greater physical demands placed on men did not explain the role sex plays in the death rate. Grayson said the fact men do more hard labor in society doesn't account for their higher death rate. He pointed out that the men in the Donner Party did more hard labor than the women.