Sex differences in the severity and number of common cold symptoms

Abstract

It is commonly believed that men tend to exaggerate the severity of their illness when infected with a respiratory virus. On the contrary, on literature in health, it seems that women are generally the ones who are “sicker”. In the literature there is still a debate on whether men or women tend over-report minor health problems. Therefore, this study examines the effect of sex on the severity and number of common cold symptoms. Hypotheses were derived from literature building on a social constructionist perspective of gender and health. Women were expected to report more symptoms and a higher severity of their symptoms. Also, the effects were expected to be mediated by stress. The results show that there are no differences between men and women in their reports on the severity and the number of common cold symptoms.