ABSTRACT

Although generally harmless, the common cold disturbs the lives of billions yearly. It is frequently treated by self-care, yet little is known about the effect gender may have on self-care. Our study set out to discover whether self-care for common colds differs by gender. We also wanted to test the ‘Man cold’ belief: that men ‘break down’ when they have a cold and suffer more than women when they are sick. We distributed questionnaires asking for a selection of self-care practices in eight categories to 3,240 consecutive patients in 14 Eurasian countries at 27 primary care sites. Of 2,654 patients included, 99% reported engaging in self-care for common colds. Discomfort was reported more frequently by women (74.7% vs. 66.5%, p < 0.001). There were gender differences in several self-care categories. The mean use of self-care items was higher in women than in men (12.0 vs. 10.3, p < 0.001). Women reported a greater variety of self-care items than men. However, more men reported using alcohol (17.8% vs. 8.4%, p < 0.001). This cross-national study documented gender differences in self-care for common colds.

摘要

虽然一般来说是无害的，但普通感冒每年都会扰乱数十亿人的生活。它经常通过自我护理来治疗，但对性别可能对自我护理的影响知之甚少。我们的研究旨在发现普通感冒的自我保健是否因性别而异。我们还想测试“男人感冒”的信念：男人感冒时会“崩溃”，生病时比女人更痛苦。我们向来自 14 个欧亚国家的 27 个初级保健机构的 3,240 名连续患者分发了问卷，要求他们选择八个类别的自我保健实践。在包括的 2,654 名患者中，99% 的人报告进行了普通感冒的自我护理。女性更频繁地报告不适（74.7% 对 66.5%，p < 0.001）。在几个自我保健类别中存在性别差异。女性自我护理用品的平均使用率高于男性（12.0 对 10.3，p < 0.001）。女性报告的自我护理项目比男性多。然而，更多男性报告使用酒精（17.8% 对 8.4%，p < 0.001）。这项跨国研究记录了普通感冒自我保健方面的性别差异。