The DOI matches its Crossref record; 37 of the 37 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Do women over-report morbidity? Men’s and women’s responses to structured prompting on a standard question on long standing illness
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.
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
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?
In the citing paper
“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
Citations
Cites
Gender differences in health: Are things really as simple as they seem?
MacIntyre, S., Hunt, K., & Sweeting, H. N. (1996) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(95)00335-5 · Cited by 716
Self-citationThe twain meet: empirical explanations of sex differences in health and mortality
Verbrugge, L. M. (1989) · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · doi:10.2307/2136961 · Cited by 702
Sex Differences in Psychiatric Help-Seeking: Evidence from Four Large-Scale Surveys
Kessler, R. C., Brown, R., & Broman, C. L. (1981) · Journal of Health and Social Behavior · doi:10.2307/2136367 · Cited by 616
Morbidity statistics from general practice
Frølund, F. (1986) · PubMed Central · Cited by 568
The Sex Differential in Morbidity, Mortality, and Lifestyle
WINGARD, D. L. (1984) · Annual Review of Public Health · doi:10.1146/annurev.pu.05.050184.002245 · Cited by 343
Sex differences in illness incidence, prognosis and mortality: Issues and evidence
Waldron, I. (1983) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(83)90004-7 · Cited by 321
Sex, illness, and medical care
Nathanson, C. A. (1977) · Social Science & Medicine (1967) · doi:10.1016/0037-7856(77)90141-x · Cited by 315
Gender roles, illness orientation and use of medical services
Hibbard, J. H., & Pope, C. R. (1983) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/0277-9536(83)90246-0 · Cited by 227
MORBIDITY statistics from general practice.
Logan, W. P. D. (1954) · PubMed · Cited by 214
International variation in socioeconomic inequalities in self reported health.
Kunst, A. E., Geurts, J. J., & den Berg, J. V. (1995) · Journal of Epidemiology & Community Health · doi:10.1136/jech.49.2.117 · Cited by 207
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Items 201–274 of 274
ACESSO E UTILIZAÇÃO DOS SERVIÇOS DE SAÚDE POR QUILOMBOLAS CONTEMPORÂNEOS BAIANOS
Pereira, R. D. N., Mussi, R. F. D. F., & Rocha, R. M. (2020) · Revista da Associação Brasileira de Pesquisador s Negr s - ABPN · doi:10.31418/2177-2770.2020.v12.n.31.p449-469 · Cited by 5
Etiology and prevalence of fatigue in chronic liver disease: clinical view
Salama, Z. A., Darweesh, S. K., Shehab, H. M., & Abd-Elhameed, M. A. (2016) · The Egyptian Journal of Internal Medicine · doi:10.4103/1110-7782.193892 · Cited by 5
Herr, R. M., Bosch, J. A., Theorell, T., & Loerbroks, A. (2018) · International Journal of Audiology · doi:10.1080/14992027.2018.1490034 · Cited by 5
Quality of life of women living with hepatitis C
Thein, H., Haber, P., & Dore, G. J. (2003) · Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology · doi:10.1046/j.1440-1746.2003.03216.x · Cited by 5
Davin, B., Paraponaris, A., & Verger, P. (2008) · The Journal of Socio-Economics · doi:10.1016/j.socec.2008.10.005 · Cited by 5
Auto-avaliação de saúde e limitações físicas decorrentes de problemas de saúde
de Souza, M. C., Otero, U. B., de Almeida, L. M., Turci, S. R. B., Figueiredo, V. C., & Lozana, J. D. A. (2008) · Revista de Saúde Pública · doi:10.1590/s0034-89102008000400022 · Cited by 5
Reconceiving the Spoiled Female Identity: Childbearing and Motherhood among Women with Hepatitis C
Proudfoot, H., & Vogl, L. (2004) · ANU Open Research (Australian National University) · doi:10.25911/5d7a2bdc3a42f · Cited by 5
Perceived Stress and Physiological DysregulationPreprint
Goldman, N., Glei, D. A., Seplaki, C. L., Liu, I.-W., & Weinstein, M. (2004) · RePEc: Research Papers in Economics · Cited by 5
Sabwa, S., Rouzier, V., Sufra, R., Sauveur, R. S., Mourra, N., Rasul, R., Inddy, J., Yan, L. D., Sterling, M. R., Pinheiro, L. C., et al. (2025) · Journal of the American Heart Association · doi:10.1161/jaha.124.036139 · Cited by 4
The Bradford & Airedale Health of Men initiative: a study of its effectiveness in engaging with men
White, A. H., Cash, K., Conrad, D. C., & Branney, P. (2008) · Leeds Beckett Repository (Leeds Beckett University) · Cited by 4
Mo, P. K. H., So, G. Y. K., Lu, Z., & Mak, W. W. S. (2022) · Psychopathology · doi:10.1159/000525495 · Cited by 4
Unemployment and the health of Slovak adolescents
Bačíková-Slešková, M. (2006) · University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) · Cited by 4
The Demographic Correlates of Health Status
Pol, L. G., & Thomas, R. K. (2012) · The Springer series on demographic methods and population analysis · doi:10.1007/978-90-481-8903-8_10 · Cited by 3
How do gender based disparities affect women’s self-rated health and anxiety in the European Union?
Puente, A. F. F., & Sánchez-Sánchez, N. (2021) · Journal of Gender Studies · doi:10.1080/09589236.2021.1899904 · Cited by 1
Remennick, L., & Raanan, O. (2000) · Health An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health Illness and Medicine · doi:10.1177/136345930000400403 · Cited by 3
Health and working conditions among low-educated women
Dahlberg, R. (2005) · Gothenburg University Publications Electronic Archive (Gothenburg University) · Cited by 3
Men and the Problem of Help Seeking
White, A. (2008) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-141603000-3.10004-8 · Cited by 3
Gender Matters : Differences and change in disability and health among our oldest women and men
Schön, P. (2011) · DiVA (Stockholm University) · Cited by 3
Prevalence of deleterious oral habits in school going children in Bagalkot region of Karnataka
Redddy, B., Gogineni, R., Ganeshkar, S. V., & Rathi, K. L. (2019) · IP Indian Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Research · doi:10.18231/j.ijodr.2019.018 · Cited by 2
Davin, B., Joutard, X., Moatti, J., Paraponaris, A., & Verger, P. (2006) · Sciences sociales et santé · doi:10.3917/sss.243.0059 · Cited by 2
Results from the Social Environment and Biomarkers of Aging Study
Glei, D. A., & Weinstein, M. (2005) · Cited by 2
McGreevy, J. (2013) · Figshare · Cited by 2
Leijon, O. (2006) · Figshare · doi:10.13140/rg.2.2.25414.47685 · Cited by 2
Smak- och luktförändringar vid cytostatikabehandling
Bernhardson, B. (2008) · Figshare · Cited by 2
Jorgensen, R. A. (2010) · University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy (University of Minnesota) · Cited by 2
Stenzelius, K. (2005) · Lund University Publications (Lund University) · Cited by 2
Concepções de médicos/as e enfermeiros/as sobre questões de gênero na saúde
Júnior, F. M. C. (2010) · doi:10.5016/dt000616712 · Cited by 2
Survival analysis and clinicopathological features of patients with stage IA lung adenocarcinoma
Li, J., Wang, Y., Liu, Y., Liu, Q., Shen, H., Ren, X., & Du, J. (2023) · Heliyon · doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e23205 · Cited by 1
Tong, S. F. (2012) · UPT. Syiah Kuala University Library (Syiah Kuala University) · Cited by 1
Anchors - A Way? Using Anchoring Vignettes to Assess Group Differences in Self-Rated Health
Grol-Prokopczyk, H., Jeremy Freese, A., & Hauser, R. M. (2010) · Cited by 1
Minh, H. V., Ng, N., Juvekar, S. K., Razzaque, A., Hadi, A., Bich, T. H., & Byass, P. (2008) · Cited by 1
Jacobsson, L. R. (2011) · Cited by 1
Płeć kulturowa jako determinanta zdrowia mężczyzn
Cianciara, D. (2016) · Zdrowie Publiczne i Zarządzanie · doi:10.4467/20842627oz.15.036.5463 · Cited by 1
Concepções sobre gênero e formação no campo da psicologia da saúde
da Costa-Júnior, F. M., Almeida, B. D. S., & Correr, R. (2019) · Revista Ibero-Americana de Estudos em Educação · doi:10.21723/riaee.v14iesp.2.12610 · Cited by 1
Gender, Work, and Health: Some Introductory Thoughts
Hassard, J., & Torres, L. (2020) · Aligning perspectives on health, safety and well-being · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-53269-7_1 · Cited by 1
Siu, E. G. (2013) · Enlighten: Theses (The University of Glasgow) · Cited by 1
Solé-Auró, A. (2009) · LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) · Cited by 1
Comparing total expenditures by source of long-term services and supports.
Corder, M. (2017) · doi:10.18297/etd/2752 · Cited by 1
Cybersickness in virtual reality as a function of individual differences and scalable task workload
Jasper, A. (2022) · doi:10.31274/td-20240329-191 · Cited by 1
Health and service use in old age: longitudinal population based studies in Taiwan
Chen, C. (2009) · Research Online (University of Wollongong)
Contemporary aspects of health and performance among young adult women and men in Sweden
Löve, J. (2010) · Gothenburg University Publications Electronic Archive (Gothenburg University)
Kirurgisk avdelningsrond, en arena för överordning och underordning.
Petersson, J. (2012) · Gothenburg University Publications Electronic Archive (Gothenburg University)
Does the previous diagnosis of arterial hypertension affect one´s daily life? Pró-Saúde Study
Filho, G. S. D. G., Lopes, C. D. S., & Faerstein, E. (2013) · Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia · doi:10.1590/s1415-790x2013000400006
Symtom, besvär och tid hos kvinnor och män med lungcancer
Lövgren, M. (2009) · Figshare
de Souza, M. C., Otero, U. B., de Almeida, L. M., Turci, S. R. B., Figueiredo, V. C., & Lozana, J. D. A. (2008) · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals)
Masculinidades e Cuidado: diversidade e necessidades de saúde dos homens na atenção primária
Schraiber, L. B. (2008)
Araújo, D., Szuster, C., Caiaffa, W. T., Iôla, E., Andrade, G., Acúrcio, F. D. A., & Cherchiglia, M. L. (2012)
Violence Victimisation as a gender-specific process
Sundaram, V. (2007) · University of Southern Denmark Research Portal (University of Southern Denmark)
Suicide, Risk for Suicide, Depression and Alcohol Dependence *
Cousteaux, A.-S. (2015)
Kaplan, A., Turrell, G., Lynch, J. W., Leite, C. M., & Raghunathan, T. E. (2007)
da Costa, F. M., & Junior, J. (2010)
Concepções de profissionais que atuam no contexto ambulatorial e hospitalar
da Costa-Júnior, F. M., Cláudia, A., Maia, B. B., & Couto, M. T. (2016)
Frailty and Comorbidities. Frailty in Women
Navarro‐Pardo, E., Villacampa-Fernández, P., Hubbard, R. E., & Gordon, E. H. (2017) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-319-59318-0_19
Class-specific gender gaps in health. The role of gender and working conditions within classes
Kjellsson, S. (2018) · DiVA (Stockholm University)
de Oliveira, F. L., & Odeh, M. M. (2018) · Tempus Actas de Saúde Coletiva · doi:10.18569/tempus.v11i3.2459
von der Lippe, C. (2018) · NORA - Norwegian Open Research Archives
Souza, A. K. D. V., & Marques, M. S. (2021) · Research Society and Development · doi:10.33448/rsd-v10i7.16519 · Cited by 1
Diabetes Health and Disability Pathways: Racial/Ethnic, Socioeconomic, and Gender Disparities.
Nicklett, E. J. (2010) · Deep Blue (University of Michigan)
The Social Dimension of Health Status
(2006) · Kluwer Academic Publishers eBooks · doi:10.1007/0-306-47889-7_9
Como o acadêmico da educação a distância define sua saúde?
Hartmann, J. B., & Yamaguchi, M. U. (2023) · Perspectivas em Diálogo revista de educação e sociedade · doi:10.55028/pdres.v10i23.17599
Why are men healthier but die younger than women?
Huhtaniemi, I. T. (2024) · Elsevier eBooks · doi:10.1016/b978-0-443-13432-6.00019-8
Sabwa, S., Rouzier, V., Sufra, R., Sauveur, R. S., Mourra, N., Rasul, R., Inddy, J., Yan, L. D., Sterling, M. R., Pinheiro, L. C., et al. (2024) · medRxiv · doi:10.1101/2024.05.08.24307093
Frailty and Comorbidities: Frailty in Women
Navarro‐Pardo, E., Villacampa-Fernández, P., Hubbard, R. E., Gordon, E. H., & Cano, A. (2025) · Springer eBooks · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-83979-5_19
Datta, B. K., Jaremski, J. E., Wilkins, A. S., & Hoffman, Z. (2026) · Biodemography and Social Biology · doi:10.1080/19485565.2026.2684735
Metadata
- Authors
- Macintyre, S., Ford, G., & Hunt, K.
- Affiliations
- Medical Research Council (GB)
- Corresponding author
- Macintyre, Sally
- Venue
- Social Science & Medicine
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 1999-01
- Volume
- 48
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 89-98
- ISSN
- 0277-9536 (ISSN-L)
- 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
- 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 › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › 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
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