Gender Differences in Reporting Asthma Symptoms

A study has found that men are less likely than women to report severe asthma symptoms and activity limitations in the presence of airway obstruction. The finding was reported in the August 2001 issue of the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

The study involved 1,291 adults who sought treatment for asthma symptoms over a two-week period. The authors found that men were less likely to describe severe distress or activity limitations even though they had greater airway obstruction than women patients.
The reasons for this, they postulate, is that men have a greater respiratory reserve and muscle strength, which may decrease their perception of severity. Also, men often develop asthma at earlier ages and may be less aware of airway obstruction. Many gender health studies show that men wait to seek care until a symptom or illness becomes so severe they can no longer ignore it, while women are more attentive to changes in their bodies and seek care sooner.

"This study confirms the need for increased research on gender differences in acute asthma and for the development of educational programs geared toward men, particularly those who have difficulty assessing their symptoms,” said Rita K. Cydulka, M.D., of Case Western Reserve University (Cleveland, OH, USA), one of the authors of the study.




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