In some ways this is a chicken and egg problem, and the conclusions in this article are not satisfactory.

http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/1998/10.01/WhyWomenLiveLo... "Studying people who live 100 years and more leads Harvard researchers to conclude that menopause is a major determinant of the life spans of both women and men."

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/05/060526083618.ht... Study about birds, but interesting: "Elevated testosterone levels increased activity--possibly attracting more predators--made the male, dark-eyed juncos more susceptible to disease and shortened their lifespan."

And I won't go into estrogen.