CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 114Sex and Gender in HealthcareHealth disparities and outcomesGender, Health, and Social Inequality

Cross-national comparison of sex differences in health and mortality in Denmark, Japan and the US

Open access
Oksuzyan, Anna, Crimmins, Eileen, Saito, Yasuhiko, O’Rand, Angela, Vaupel, James W., Christensen, Kaare·2010·European Journal of Epidemiology
DOI 10.1007/s10654-010-9460-6PMC PMC2903692
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

The present study aims to compare the direction and magnitude of sex differences in mortality and major health dimensions across Denmark, Japan and the US. The Human Mortality Database was used to examine sex differences in age-specific mortality rates. The Danish twin surveys, the Danish 1905-Cohort Study, the Health and Retirement Study, and the Nihon University Japanese Longitudinal Study of Aging were used to examine sex differences in health. Men had consistently higher mortality rates at all ages in all three countries, but they also had a substantial advantage in handgrip strength compared with the same-aged women. Sex differences in activities of daily living (ADL) became pronounced among individuals aged 85+ in all three countries. Depression levels tended to be higher in women, particularly, in Denmark and the HRS, and only small sex differences were observed in the immediate recall test and Mini-Mental State Exam. The present study revealed consistent sex differentials in survival and physical health, self-rated health and cognition at older ages, whereas the pattern of sex differences in depressive symptoms was country-specific.

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1007/s10654-010-9460-6

Cites

3 of 3 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • The limited findings on adulthood are inconsistent regarding both the magnitude and direction of the gender difference in depression.

    “The limited findings in adulthood are inconsistent with respect to both the magnitude and direction of the gender difference in depression”

    From Gender Differences in Depression in Representative National Samples: Meta-Analyses of Diagnoses and Symptoms (2017) · cites this paper as Oksuzyan et al., 2010

    The Results (Depression) and Discussion describe variation by country and age, including a slight reversal in Japan that was not statistically significant. But the paper studies middle and older ages, not adulthood broadly, and its Discussion says the literature generally finds higher depression prevalence in women from young adulthood through early old age. It does not support characterizing the limited findings across adulthood as inconsistent in direction. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 61

  1. [1]Gjonca A Tomassini C Toson B Smallwood S Sex differences in mortality, a comparison of the United Kingdom and other developed countries Health Stat Q 2005 26 6 16 15962725
  2. [2]Helweg-Larsen K Juel K Sex differences in mortality in Denmark during half a century, 1943–92 Scand J Public Health 2000 28 214 221 11045754
  3. [3]Glei DA Horiuchi S The narrowing sex differential in life expectancy in high-income populations: effects of differences in the age pattern of mortality Popul Stud 2007 61 141 159 10.1080/00324720701331433 17558883 · DOI
  4. [4]Waldron I Recent trends in sex mortality ratios for adults in developed countries Soc Sci Med 1993 36 451 462 10.1016/0277-9536(93)90407-U 8434270 · DOI
  5. [5]Trovato F Heyen NB A varied pattern of change of the sex differential in survival in the G7 countries J Biosoc Sci 2006 38 391 401 10.1017/S0021932005007212 16613623 · DOI
  6. [6]Barford A Dorling D Smith GD Shaw M Life expectancy: women now on top everywhere BMJ 2006 332 808 10.1136/bmj.332.7545.808 16601021 PMC1432200 · DOI
  7. [7]Jagger C Gillies C Moscone F Inequalities in healthy life years in the 25 countries of the European Union in 2005: a cross-national meta-regression analysis Lancet 2008 372 2124 2131 10.1016/S0140-6736(08)61594-9 19010526 · DOI
  8. [8]Olsen KM Dahl S-A Health differences between European countries Soc Sci Med 2007 64 1665 1678 10.1016/j.socscimed.2006.11.031 17250940 · DOI
  9. [9]Arber S Cooper H Gender differences in health in later life: the new paradox? Soc Sci Med 1999 48 61 76 10.1016/S0277-9536(98)00289-5 10048838 · DOI
  10. [10]Nybo H Gaist D Jeune B McGue M Vaupel JW Christensen K Functional status and self-rated health in 2, 262 nonagenarians: the Danish 1905 cohort survey J Am Geriatr Soc 2001 49 601 609 10.1046/j.1532-5415.2001.49121.x 11380754 · DOI
  11. [11]Frederiksen H Hjelmborg J Mortensen J McGue M Vaupel JW Christensen K Age trajectories of grip strength: cross-sectional and longitudinal data among 8,342 Danes aged 46 to 102 Ann Epidemiol 2006 16 554 562 10.1016/j.annepidem.2005.10.006 16406245 · DOI
  12. [12]Jeune B Skytthe A Cournil A Handgrip strength among nonagenarians and centenarians in three European regions J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2006 61 707 712 16870633
  13. [13]Hughes VA Frontera WR Wood M Longitudinal muscle strength changes in older adults: influence of muscle mass, physical activity, and health J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2001 56 B209 B217 11320101
  14. [14]Denton M Walters V Gender differences in structural and behavioral determinants of health: an analysis of the social production of health Soc Sci Med 1999 48 1221 1235 10.1016/S0277-9536(98)00421-3 10220021 · DOI
  15. [15]Gold CH Malmberg B McClearn GE Pedersen NL Berg S Gender and health: a study of older unlike-sex twins J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2002 57 S168 S176 11983743
  16. [16]Case A Paxson C Sex differences in morbidity and mortality Demography 2005 42 189 214 10.1353/dem.2005.0011 15986983 · DOI
  17. [17]Whitacre CC Sex differences in autoimmune disease Nat Immunol 2001 2 777 780 10.1038/ni0901-777 11526384 · DOI
  18. [19]Wingard DL Cohn BA Kaplan GA Cirillo PM Cohen RD Sex differentials in morbidity and mortality risk examined by age and cause in the same cohort Am J Epidemiol 1989 130 601 610 2764004
  19. [20]Rich-Edwards JW Manson JE Hennekens CH Buring JE The primary prevention of coronary heart disease in women N Engl J Med 1995 332 1758 1766 10.1056/NEJM199506293322607 7760894 · DOI
  20. [21]Sen A Health: perception versus observation BMJ 2002 324 860 861 10.1136/bmj.324.7342.860 11950717 PMC1122815 · DOI
  21. [22]Nybo H Gaist D Jeune B The Danish 1905 Cohort: a genetic-epidemiological nationwide survey J Aging Health 2001 13 32 46 10.1177/089826430101300102 11503846 · DOI
  22. [23]Christensen K Holm NV McGue M Corder L Vaupel JW A Danish population-based twin study on general health in the elderly J Aging Health 1999 11 49 64 10.1177/089826439901100103 10848141 · DOI
  23. [24]Gaist D Bathum L Skytthe A Strength and anthropometric measures in identical and fraternal twins: no evidence of masculinization of females with male co-twins Epidemiology 2000 11 340 343 10.1097/00001648-200005000-00020 10784255 · DOI
  24. [25]Juster TF Suzman R An overview of the health and retirement study J Hum Resour 1995 30 Suppl 7 56 10.2307/146277 · DOI
  25. [28]Skytthe A Kyvik K Holm NV Vaupel JW Christensen K The Danish twin registry: 127 birth cohorts of twins Twin Res 2002 5 352 357 10.1375/136905202320906084 12537858 · DOI
  26. [29]Pedersen CB Gøtzsche H Moller JO Mortensen PB The Danish civil registration system. A cohort of eight million persons Dan Med Bull 2006 53 441 449 17150149
  27. [30]Christensen K Vaupel JW Holm NV Yashin AI Mortality among twins after age 6: fetal origins hypothesis versus twin method BMJ 1995 310 432 436 7873948 PMC2548817
  28. [31]Christensen K Wienke A Skytthe A Holm NV Vaupel JW Yashin AI Cardiovascular mortality in twins and the fetal origins hypothesis Twin Res 2001 4 344 349 10.1375/1369052012506 11869487 · DOI
  29. [32]Langa KM Plassman BL Wallace RB The aging, demographics, and memory study: study design and methods Neuroepidemiology 2005 25 181 191 10.1159/000087448 16103729 · DOI
  30. [33]Tsukada N Saito Y Tatara T Japanese older people’s perceptions of “elder abuse” J Elder Abus Negl 2001 13 71 89 10.1300/J084v13n01_04 · DOI
  31. [34]Nasu I Saito Y Active life expectancy for elderly Japanese by chewing ability Nippon Koshu Eisei Zasshi 2006 53 411 423 16881529
  32. [37]McDowell I Newell C Measuring health a guide to rating scales and questionnaires 1996 2 New York Oxford University Press
  33. [38]McGue M Christensen K The heritability of depression symptoms in elderly Danish twins: occasion-specific versus general effects Behav Genet 2003 33 83 93 10.1023/A:1022545600034 14574144 · DOI
  34. [39]Kohout FJ Berkman LF Evans DA Cornoni-Huntley J Two shorter forms of the CES-D depression symptoms index J Aging Health 1993 5 179 193 10.1177/089826439300500202 10125443 · DOI
  35. [40]Katanoda K Marugame T Saika K Population attributable fraction of mortality associated with tobacco smoking in Japan: a pooled analysis of three large-scale cohort studies J Epidemiol 2008 18 251 264 10.2188/jea.JE2007429 19075498 PMC4771610 · DOI
  36. [41]Marugame T Kamo K-i Sobue T Trends in smoking by birth cohorts born between 1900 and 1977 in Japan Prev Med 2006 42 120 127 10.1016/j.ypmed.2005.09.009 16271753 · DOI
  37. [42]Satoshi K Koichi BI Itsuro Y Projection of lung cancer mortality in Japan Cancer Sci 2003 94 919 923 10.1111/j.1349-7006.2003.tb01376.x 14556667 PMC11160239 · DOI
  38. [43]Kuh D Bassey EJ Butterworth S Hardy R Wadsworth MEJ The Musculoskeletal Study T Grip strength, postural control, and functional leg power in a representative cohort of British men and women: associations with physical activity, health status, and socioeconomic conditions J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci 2005 60 224 231 15814867
  39. [44]Bassey EJ Longitudinal changes in selected physical capabilities: muscle strength, flexibility and body size Age Ageing 1998 27 12 16 10408678
  40. [45]Andersen-Ranberg K Petersen I Frederiksen H Mackenbach J Christensen K Cross-national differences in grip strength among 50+ year-old Europeans: results from the SHARE study Eur J Ageing 2009 6 227 236 10.1007/s10433-009-0128-6 28798606 PMC5547372 · DOI
  41. [46]Crimmins EM, Kim JK, Sole-Auro A. Gender differences in health: results from SHARE, ELSA and HRS. Eur J Public Health 2010;(epub ahead). PMC3023013 20237171
  42. [47]Ev Strauss Agüero-Torres H Kåreholt I Winblad B Fratiglioni L Women are more disabled in basic activities of daily living than men only in very advanced ages: a study on disability, morbidity, and mortality from the Kungsholmen Project J Clin Epidemiol 2003 56 669 677 10.1016/S0895-4356(03)00089-1 12921936 · DOI
  43. [48]Bambra C Pope DP Swami V Gender, health inequalities and welfare state regimes: a cross-national study of thirteen European countries J Epidemiol Community Health 2008 63 38 44 10.1136/jech.2007.070292 18768570 · DOI
  44. [49]Read JnG Gorman BK Gender inequalities in US adult health: the interplay of race and ethnicity Soc Sci Med 2006 62 1045 1065 10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.07.009 16122860 · DOI
  45. [50]Lee Y Shinkai S A comparison of correlates of self-rated health and functional disability of older persons in the Far East: Japan and Korea Arch Gerontol Geriatr 2003 37 63 76 10.1016/S0167-4943(03)00021-9 12849074 · DOI
  46. [51]Andersen FK Christensen K Frederiksen H Self-rated health and age: a cross-sectional and longitudinal study of 11,000 Danes aged 45 102 Scand J Public Health 2007 35 164 171 10.1080/14034940600975674 17454920 · DOI
  47. [52]Christensen K Herskind AM Vaupel JW Why Danes are smug: comparative study of life satisfaction in the European Union BMJ 2006 333 1289 1291 10.1136/bmj.39028.665602.55 17185710 PMC1761170 · DOI
  48. [55]Cairney J Wade TJ The influence of age on gender differences in depression further population-based evidence on the relationship between menopause and the sex difference in depression Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 2002 37 401 408 10.1007/s00127-002-0569-0 12242615 · DOI
  49. [56]Katona CL Shankar KK Depression in old age Rev Clin Gerontol 2004 14 283 306 10.1017/S0959259805001632 · DOI
  50. [57]Aartsen MJ Martin M Zimprich D Gender differences in level and change in cognitive functioning. Results from the longitudinal aging study Amsterdam Gerontology 2004 50 35 38 10.1159/000074387 14654725 · DOI
  51. [58]Herlitz A Rehnman J Sex differences in episodic memory Curr Dir Psychol Sci 2008 17 52 56 10.1111/j.1467-8721.2008.00547.x · DOI
  52. [59]Read S Pedersen NL Gatz M Sex differences after all those years? Heritability of cognitive abilities in old age J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2006 61 P137 P143 16670182
  53. [60]Bischkopf J Busse A Angermeyer MC Mild cognitive impairment—a review of prevalence, incidence and outcome according to current approaches Acta Psychiatr Scand 2002 106 403 414 10.1034/j.1600-0447.2002.01417.x 12392483 · DOI
  54. [61]Jacqmin-Gadda H Fabrigoule C Commenges D Dartigues J-F A 5-year longitudinal study of the mini-mental state examination in normal aging Am J Epidemiol 1997 145 498 506 9063339
  55. [63]Fitzpatrick AL Kuller LH Ives DG Incidence and prevalence of dementia in the cardiovascular health study J Am Geriatr Soc 2004 52 195 204 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2004.52058.x 14728627 · DOI · Paper page
  56. [64]Fratiglioni L Launer LJ Andersen K Incidence of dementia and major subtypes in Europe: a collaborative study of population-based cohorts. Neurologic Diseases in the Elderly Research Group Neurology 2000 54 S10 S15 10854355
  57. [65]Eikemo TA Huisman M Bambra C Kunst AE Health inequalities according to educational level in different welfare regimes: a comparison of 23 European countries Sociol Health Illn 2008 30 565 582 18298629
  58. [66]Carlson P Self-perceived health in East and West Europe: another European health divide Soc Sci Med 1998 46 1355 1366 10.1016/S0277-9536(97)10093-4 9665566 · DOI
  59. [67]Huisman M Kunst AE Mackenbach JP Socioeconomic inequalities in morbidity among the elderly; a European overview Soc Sci Med 2003 57 861 873 10.1016/S0277-9536(02)00454-9 12850111 · DOI
  60. [68]Jürges H True health vs response styles: exploring cross-country differences in self-reported health Health Econ 2007 16 163 178 10.1002/hec.1134 16941555 · DOI
  61. [69]Luchenski S Quesnel-Vallee A Lynch J Differences between women’s and men’s socioeconomic inequalities in health: longitudinal analysis of the Canadian population, 1994–2003 J Epidemiol Community Health 2008 62 1036 1044 10.1136/jech.2007.068908 19008368 PMC3765154 · DOI

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Oksuzyan, A., Crimmins, E., Saito, Y., O’Rand, A., Vaupel, J. W., & Christensen, K.
Affiliations
  • University of Southern Denmark (DK)
  • University of Southern California (US)
  • Nihon University (JP)
  • Duke University (US)
  • Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (DE)
Corresponding author
Oksuzyan, Anna
ORCID
Venue
European Journal of Epidemiology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2010-05-22
Volume
25
Issue
7
Pages
471-480
ISSN
  • 0393-2990 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-7284
DOI
10.1007/s10654-010-9460-6
PMC
PMC2903692
OpenAlex
W2078760304
Cited by
114
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 5 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 9 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 8 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 9 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 3
FWCI
5.73
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by-nc
Locations
  • European Journal of Epidemiology (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • HAL (submittedVersion, other-oa)
  • DukeSpace (Duke University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Publikationen an der Universität Bielefeld (Universität Bielefeld) (submittedVersion)
  • University of Southern Denmark Research Portal (University of Southern Denmark) (submittedVersion)
  • Trinity's Access to Research Output (TARA) (Trinity College Dublin) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Velux Stiftung
  • Nihon University
  • Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
  • National Institute on Aging (P30 AG17265, P01AG008761, P01AG031719, P01-AG007940, P30AG017265, U01AG009740, P30AG034424)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R03HD050374)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Sex and Gender in Healthcare
  • Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Gender, Health, and Social Inequality
Keywords
sex differences, mortality, aging, grip strength, activities of daily living, depression, cognitive function, self-rated health, cross-national comparison, Denmark, Japan, United States, older adults
MeSH terms
Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Denmark, Disability Evaluation, Female, Health Status, Humans, Japan, Male, Middle Aged, Mortality, United States, Sex Distribution

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review