Does the sex ratio at sexual maturity affect men's later-life mortality risks? Evidence from historical China

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between the male-to-female sex ratio (measured as the proportion male) at sexual maturity and later-life mortality risks in the context of pre-industrial northeast China, using registration data from the Qing Dynasty. We find that a higher male-to-female sex ratio at sexual maturity is associated with a higher later-life mortality risk among men. This association is likely due to the long-term adverse consequences of stress caused by low mate availability at sexual maturity. We further find that a high sex ratio at sexual maturity mitigates the health benefits of marriage and exacerbates the health disadvantages of holding an official position in Qing China.

Dynamics between Regional Sex Ratios at Birth and Sex Ratios at Prime Marriageable Ages in China

“…Studies have found a positive association between sex ratios at sexual maturity and later‐life mortality risk among men, which is consistent with the homeostatic principle (Jin et al. 2010; Zang and Zheng 2018). However, sex differences in mortality below the reproductive ages are small, even in a newly industrialized country like China.…”

Mate value moderates the influence of perceived sex ratio on mental health outcomes.

“…They hypothesized that Black individuals were less affected by lack of mate availability because of the well-known extreme dearth of available Black males, and they, therefore, blamed the lack of opportunity as "systemically rooted" and did not take it personally that they lacked options. Another study looked at how a skewed sex ratio with more males than females affected Chinese men and found that Chinese provinces that had fewer women, and thereby lower mate opportunities for males, were associated with higher male mortality rates (Zang & Zheng, 2018). The researchers hypothesized that increased stress because of mate competition was responsible for earlier deaths.…”