Women are continuing to outlive men, but men are gaining on them in numbers thanks to medical improvements.
New 2010 census figures show men are narrowing the female population advantage, primarily in the 65-plus age group.
Over the past decade, the number of men in the United States increased by 9.9 percent, faster than the 9.5 percent growth rate for women. As a result, women outnumbered men by just 5.18 million. In 2000, there were 5.3 million more women than men.
There hasn't been such a sustained resurgence in the U.S. male population since 1910, when medical advances started to increase women's life expectancies by reducing deaths during pregnancy.
Demographers say the shift could mean that men pay more attention to health care issues as Congress debates Medicare cuts.
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