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Doctor sick of overreaction accusations, says evidence suggests 'man flu' is real

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A Canadian doctor led a study into whether men were «wimps or just immunologically inferior» when it comes to comparing cold and flu symptoms between the genders.
A Canadian doctor led a study into whether men were «wimps or just immunologically inferior» when it comes to comparing cold and flu symptoms between the genders.
It turns out, at least according to Dr. Kyle Sue, that there is some evidence that the concept of «man flu» is real.
Sue is a clinical assistant professor at Memorial University in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, and had his study published in the British Medical Journal in what is sure to become most men’s most commonly referenced issue.
«I’ve been criticized for exaggerating my symptoms when I had the flu,» Sue told CBC News . «I thought: You know what? This would be an interesting topic to look into.
«I think the symptoms are real. And they’re worse.»
He claims in the study that there had been no previous scientific review of the «man flu,» and that after «tired of being accused of over-reacting» he searched the available data to determine if men have it worse than women when it comes to the flu.
Sue said the study was done by searching the top medical scholarly databases by searching key terms for articles relating to the «man flu.» The doctor says he read all of the abstracts, narrowed them down by relevance and then «hand searched» each article’s references.
Some of the studies he points to include the belief that female mice have better immune system responses than their male counterparts, and one that isolated cells from 63 different «healthy people.» In this study, the cells taken from premenopausal women had better immune responses to rhinovirus than men of the same age.
Sue notes that postmenopausal women did not experience this same immune system advantage to men of the same age. The Canadian doctor also points to the World Health Organization’s warning that «sex should be considered» when dealing with influenza exposure.
He takes data from 2004 to 2010 in Hong Kong to show that men had a higher risk of seasonal influenza resulting in hospitalization, and a decade-long U. S. study associating men with a higher influenza death rate.
«The concept of man flu, as commonly defined, is potentially unjust. Men may not be exaggerating symptoms but have weaker immune responses to viral respiratory viruses, leading to greater morbidity and mortality than seen in women,» Sue writes in the study. «There are benefits to energy conservation when ill. Lying on the couch, not getting out of bed, or receiving assistance with activities of daily living could also be evolutionarily behaviours that protect against predators.
«Perhaps now is the time for male-friendly spaces, equipped with enormous televisions and reclining chairs, to be set up where men can recover from the debilitating effects of man flu in safety and comfort.»
To read more of Sue’s findings and organizes studies, head to the British Medical Journal by clicking here.

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