Wellnews by Scott LaFee

In studies asking women to rate their own health, women typically describe their health as being worse than men's. Researchers have usually attributed this to reporting bias. "In general practice, there has been this idea that women over-report health problems, or are more likely to say they are ill or pay attention to their symptoms than men," as Davide Malmusi of the Public Health Agency in Barcelona, Spain, told Scientific American.

But in a new study published in the European Journal of Public Health, Malmusi and colleagues suggest a different reason: Women say they're less healthy than men because, on average, they actually are. Specifically, they suffer from a higher rate of chronic disease.

The researchers analyzed data from 29,000 Spaniards who were queried about their health. Half of the respondents were between the ages of 16 and 44; the other half was older. Almost 39 percent of the women interviewed rated their health as poor or very poor; 25.7 percent said they had some sort of chronic ailment that limited activity. For men, just 27 percent self-reported poor health; 19 percent said they had a chronic limitation of activity.

The study suggests the difference isn't a matter of groundless complaining. When researchers compared men and women with the same type or number of chronic conditions, gender differences disappeared. Men and women equally described poor health.

The bigger question of why women appear to have a higher rate of chronic health problems was not resolved, but Malmusi said it's likely a mix of factors, biological and social. "Gender influences the way people are diagnosed and treated in health systems," he said. "It influences the kind of health conditions they suffer from, the way people relate to their own bodies and what kind of access to health care they have."

BODY OF KNOWLEDGE

Fingernails grow faster on the hand you favor.

The nail on the middle finger grows fastest of all.

NUMBER CRUNCHER

A bean burrito from Taco Bell (198 grams) contains 370 calories, 90 from fat. It has 10 grams of total fat or 15 percent of the recommended total fat intake for a 2,000-calorie daily diet.

It also contains 10 milligrams of cholesterol (3 percent); 1,200 mg of sodium (50 percent); 55 grams of total carbohydrates (18 percent); 8 grams of dietary fiber; 4 grams of sugar and 14 g of protein.

COUNTS

720,000 -- Number of Americans age 90 and older in 1980

1.9 million --Number in 2010

9 million -- Projected number in 2050

Source: U.S. Census Bureau

DOC TALK

Mannitol - a natural sugar that acts as a diuretic (causing urination and water loss).  It is used in cases of drug overdoses and cerebral swelling

PHOBIA OF THE WEEK

Ebulliophobia -- fear of bubbles

NEVER SAY DIET

The world's speed-eating record for burritos is 11.81 pounds in 10 minutes, held by Tim Janus.

BEST MEDICINE

A distraught patient phoned her doctor's office.  Was it true that the medication prescribed by her doctor was to be taken the rest of her life, she asked?

Yes, the nurse replied. She should take the pills for the rest of her life.

A long, silent pause ensued before the woman asked, tremulously, "Then I'm wondering just how serious my condition is. The prescription is marked 'No refills.'"

OBSERVATION

"You can live to be a hundred if you give up all the things that make you want to live to be a hundred."
    -- American comedian Woody Allen

CURTAIN CALLS

Garry Hoy, a 38-year-old Canadian lawyer died in 1993 when he fell to his death from the 24th floor of the Toronto-Dominion Centre tower. Hoy had thrown himself against one of the skyscraper's windows to prove that the glass was unbreakable. He was right. The glass did not break, but the window frame popped out -- followed by Hoy.

To find out more about Scott LaFee and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.
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