Study Peacemaker or just more susceptible? Men get sick more often

Why men get sick more often

Colds, scratching the throat, fever, headache and body aches: Every person suffers from a common cold once or twice a year. Men, however, seem to be more affected by the infections. Are they just more peaceable or are men more likely to become ill or more intense? An expert clarifies.

Women find men more pious

In an older survey on male health and disease, the majority of women (85.1 percent) said that men were often more self-pitying than themselves and that they would complain when the first signs of illness were showing. Men shared this view much less often with 47.0 percent. But men are in light illnesses really much lamentable than women, or rather agree with the stereotypes of the "typical man" who like the "Indians knows no pain"?

Men often suffer significantly more from colds than women. This also has to do with gender-specific differences in the immune response. (Image: Jana Behr / fotolia.com)

Male immune system reacts slower

Even in scientific studies have already been found answers to the question of whether the male's flu or male flu actually exists or whether the "strong sex" is only peacemaker.

In a study conducted by British researchers at Queen Mary University in London, the male immune system, in contrast to the female one, reacted more slowly and less efficiently to infectious diseases.

This is the reason that men have always been more serious than women. Accordingly, men would also feel sicker than women.

The results were obtained in the study of mice, but according to the researchers are readily transferable to humans.

Men can get sick more often

Anyone who deals with the question of whether men are actually more easily or more affected by cold and flu viruses than women, sooner or later ends up with Beatrix Grubeck-Loebenstein.

The scientist from the University of Innsbruck has been studying for some time how the immune systems of women and men differ.

According to a news agency dpa press release, the immunologist said in the run-up to the International Men's Day on November 19: "It can be said in a simplistic manner that men can get sick more often than women because of differences in the immune response."

Specific and unspecific immune cells

To understand why this is so, you need to know how the immune system works. When pathogens enter the body, they are controlled by the body's own immune cells.

There are non-specific and specific immune cells. The latter are only effective against very specific pathogens. Humans can defend themselves against a multitude of viruses, bacteria or parasites.

Of the specific immune cells, however, there is only a small amount in the body. They have to multiply millions of times to defeat invading pathogens. This is where the difference between the sexes comes into play.

For while the female hormone estrogen supports the propagation of specific immune cells, the male hormone testosterone has exactly the opposite effect.

"Estrogen stimulates the immune system, whereas testosterone suppresses it. The immune system of women reacts faster and more aggressive against pathogens than that of men, "said Marcus Altfeld from the Heinrich Pette Institute in Hamburg in the dpa message.

To make matters worse, the higher the testosterone level, the more weakened the male immune system becomes.

Abandonment of the female immune system

The causes of this difference are not clear. As the human immune system has evolved over millions of years, one possible explanation, Altfeld says, must look far back.

"Our Stone Age ancestors lived in common caves and posed dangers. The task of the female immune system was even then to protect the unborn or newborn child especially, "said the expert according to dpa.

The influence of hormone activity could also be explained by this connection. Grubeck-Loebenstein explained in the agency message: "The effect of the estrogen-boosted immune system is particularly pronounced in young women from puberty and is weaker in post-menopausal women."

Differences between the sexes

Indeed, the gender differences in the immune response can provide a rationale for why men are more susceptible to some diseases than women. But to explain this only with the testosterone-weakened immune system falls short.

"Other factors also play a role, which are more related to behavior and the environment. Men still live more risky, they eat less healthy and they can vaccinate less disciplined, "said Grubeck-Loebenstein.

That men live unhealthier than women has also been proven in studies.

Prof. Dr. med. Sommer, the first physician in the world to be appointed university professor of men's health, said years ago: "Women live in their bodies. Men tend to use their body as an instrument - and neglect it. "

However, even though more knowledge has now been gained about the differences between male and female disease defense, Marcus Altfeld still regards the state of knowledge as inadequate:

"There is a lot of talk about personalized medicine these days, the individual should find more and more consideration in research. At the same time, we do not even know enough about the differences between the sexes, "according to the expert. (Ad)