MONDAY, JUNE 30, 1975
WOMEN CAN OUTLIVE MEN DY AT LEAST SEVEN YEARS ******
HONG KONG WOMEN CAN EXPECT TO OUTLIVE MEN BY AN AVERAGE OF MORE THAN SEVEN AND A HALF YEARS, ACCORDING TO A SPECIAL REVIEW ARTICLE PUBLISHED IN THE APRIL ISSUE OF THE HONG KONG MONTHLY DIGEST OF STATISTICS NOW ON SALE.
ACCORDING TO THE ARTICLE, COMPILED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT, THE AVERAGE LIFE EXPECTANCY OF WOMEN IN 1971 WAS 75.0 YEARS WHILE THAT OF MEN WAS 67.4 YEARS -- A DIFFERENCE OF 7.6 YEARS AND ONE OF THE HIGHEST IN THE WORLD.
+THE GAP IS WIDER THAN THAT OF 1961 - THE YEAR WHEN HONG
- WHEN THE KONG'S FIRST SET OF LIFE TABLES WAS PREPARED EXPECTANCIES OF WOMEN AND MEN VERE ESTIMATED TO DE 70.5 AND 63.6 YEARS RESPECTIVELY.
+NOT ONLY ARE THESE FIGURES RELATIVELY HIGH FOR A DEVELOPING COUNTRY, BUT THE BIG DIFFERENCE IN LIFE SPAN BETWEEN MEN AND WOMEN IS COMPARABLE WITH THOSE PREVAILING IN THE KORE DEVELOPED COUNTRIES IN THE WORLD, THE ARTICLE STATES.
THE OVERALL SEX RATIO AT DEATH IN 1973 WAS 1,218 MALES TO 1,000 FEMALES, A SLIGHT INCREASE ON 1961'S RATIO OF 1,215 MALES TO 1,000 FEMALES.
+DURING THIS PERIOD, THERE WAS A MARKED DECLINE IN DEATHS CAUSED BY INFECTIOUS AND PARASITIC DISEASES WHICH HAD PREVIOUSLY BLEN THE MAIN CAUSES OF DEATH. FOR THIS GROUP OF CAUSES, THE MORTALITY RATE OF MALES DROPPED DY 56 PER CENT WHILE THAT OF FEMALES DROPPED BY 77 PER CENT,+
+ON THE OTHER HAND, DEATHS CAUSED BY NEOPLASM INCREASED BY 66 PER CENT FOR NALES BUT BY ONLY 31 PER CENT FOR FEMALES WHILE DEATHS CONNECTED WITH PREGNANCY, CHILD-BIRTH AND PUERPERIUM DROPPED BY 88 PER CENT.
+ALL THESE FACTORS CONTRIBUTED TO A MUCH HIGHER MALE DEATH RATIO EUT THIS WAS COUNTER-BALANCED BY AN INCREASE IN DEATHS ALONG OLD WOMEN CAUSED BY DISEASES OF THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM. WITH MORE AND MORE WOMEN SURVIVING TO OLDER AGE GROUPS WHICH ARE MST SUSCEPTIBLE TO THESE DISEASES, THE MORTALITY RATE FOR F.MALES AMONG THEM INCREASED MORE RAPIDLY THAN THAT OF MALES.+
+ALTHOUGH THE RATE OF INFANT MORTALITY HAS DROPPED CONSIDERABLY BECAUSE OF BETTER CHILD-CARE FACILITIES AND IMPROVE- MNT IN SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS, THE DEATH RATIO L..TWEEN MALE AND FEMALE INFANTS ROSE FROM 1,178 LOYS TO 1,000 GIRLS IN 1961, TO 1,235 BOYS TO 1,000 GIRLS IN 1973,+ THE ARTICLE SAYS. IT WOULD APPEAR THAT BOYS ARE MORE EASILY AFFECTED BY BIRTH HAZARDS THAN GIRLS.+
/AS FOR THE