The Decline in Death Rates, 2006, may be due to Increased Testosterone

It is my hypothesis that testosterone, for reasons I will not explain at this time, reduces the life span. This is most easily seen in men vs. women and black vs. white, in that men and blacks produce more testosterone. This effect has recently been verified in another species (American Naturalist 2006; 167: 665-681). It is also my hypothesis that the “secular trend,” the increase in size and earlier puberty in children, is produced by an increase in the percentage of individuals of higher testosterone within the population with time. Testosterone is increasing within the population and is driven by women of higher testosterone.

You may be aware of recent findings of reduced birth rates within populations of women within the U.S. that cannot be totally explained by contraception or abstinence. I suggest this is also due to the secular trend; excessive testosterone actually reduces fertility in women. I have written a paper on this which includes the logic and supporting citations (http://www.anthropogeny.com/birth%20rate%20secular%20trend.htm ). I suggest this phenomenon is directly causative of the decline in death rates.

I suggest the newly discovered decline in death rates results from less reproduction of women of high testosterone. This would reduce the percentage of individuals of high testosterone within the population, therefore, reducing a group which exhibits shorter life spans. The report stated that the increase in life span was greater for blacks than whites and that infant mortality is greater in blacks. The infant mortality rate was 5.65 per 1,000 births for whites and 13.65 per 1,000 births for blacks. It is this increased black infant mortality that causes the black death rate of blacks to decline more thanl that of whites. The impact of reduced fertility would be higher in black women. Since testosterone is known to increase vulnerability to viral infections, it is also possible that the influenza pandemic of 1918 removed individuals of high testosterone. This pandemic markedly reduced the sexually active age group. Subsequently, death rates were reduced in the late 30s / early 40s.