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Cited by 274Sex and Gender in HealthcareGender, Health, and Social InequalityHealth and Medical Studies

Do women over-report morbidity? Men’s and women’s responses to structured prompting on a standard question on long standing illness

Macintyre, Sally, Ford, Graeme, Hunt, Kate·1999·Social Science & Medicine
DOI 10.1016/s0277-9536(98)00292-5
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Abstract

It is frequently observed in contemporary industrialised societies that although women live longer than men, they are sicker than men in that they report higher rates of morbidity, disability and health care use. One common element of the explanation for women's higher rates of morbidity is that there are gender differences in the way that symptoms are perceived, evaluated and acted upon. It is widely assumed that women will be more ready to report illness and to seek help and that they have greater flexibility in their lives to accommodate illness. The few studies that have examined men and women with the same conditions or symptoms are contradictory, but lend little support to this hypothesised greater propensity, yet it is still widely believed. Here we compare men's and women's answers to a global, commonly used question about chronic illness and to a series of more specific prompts and classify the conditions reported by an externally defined categorisation of severity and International Classification of Disease chapter. Contrary to the common expectation that women report higher rates of morbidity and are more ready to report mental health problems, we found: no gender differences in the initial reporting of conditions; men reported a higher proportion of their conditions in response to the initial global question; and no evidence that women were more likely to report 'trivial' or mental health conditions in response to the initial question.

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  • The most common explanations for why the mortality/morbidity paradox occurs have to do with differences in biological hazards, risks acquired through lifestyles, health and disease behaviors, and differences in the use of health services.

    “The most common explanations about why this occurs have to do with differences in biological hazards, risks acquired through lifestyles, health and disease behaviors, and differences in the use of the health services (Macintyre, Ford, & Hunt, 1999; Verbrugge, 1989).”

    From Health From a Gender Perspective (2017) · cites this paper as Macintyre, Ford, & Hunt, 1999

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Authors
Macintyre, S., Ford, G., & Hunt, K.
Affiliations
Medical Research Council (GB)
Corresponding author
Macintyre, Sally
ORCID
Venue
Social Science & Medicine
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
1999-01
Volume
48
Issue
1
Pages
89-98
ISSN
0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/s0277-9536(98)00292-5
OpenAlex
W2033999653
Cited by
273
References
37
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 15
FWCI
10.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Social Science & Medicine (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • RePEc: Research Papers in Economics (submittedVersion)
Funders
Medical Research Council
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Sex and Gender in Healthcare
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Gender, Health, and Social Inequality
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Medical Studies
Keywords
women's health, chronic disease, structured prompting, mental illness, International Classification of Diseases, health status measurement, sex differences in health
MeSH terms
Adult, Age Factors, Analysis of Variance, Mental Disorders, Chronic Disease, Cross-Sectional Studies, Cues, Female, Health Status, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Medical History Taking, Middle Aged, Morbidity, Scotland, Sex Factors, Sick Role, Cohort Studies, Chi-Square Distribution, Women's Health

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