Alone Men are a distinct minority of Americans over 65. Older women outnumber older men three to two, and this disparity becomes even greater in the older-old. In 1985, there were only two men for every five women 85 and older.
Women have a longer life expectancy, outliving men by an average of seven to eight years.
Today's generation of older men age differently than today's older women, having had lifestyles that place them at higher risk for today's leading causes of death. It is worth noting that this can be expected to change if successive generations of women take up smoking and other harmful practices that place them at equal risk for diseases such as lung cancer and heart disease. CHD is the number one cause of death in men over 40 and is responsible for half of all deaths among older people. Strokes affect 1.5 times as many men as women and are a major cause of disability as well as death. The same risk factors as those mentioned for CHD increase a man's risk for stroke.