Masculine gender affects sex differences in the prevalence of chronic health problems - The Doetinchem Cohort Study

Gender scores in epidemiological research: methods, advantages and implications

“…For example, the recently developed one-dimensional masculine gender score in the Dutch Doetinchem Cohort Study includes variables on education, with an educational level higher than one's partner indicating masculinity. 28 In the Netherlands the proportion of women with a high educational level has been steadily increasing, surpassing that of men in the early 2000's. 52 This shows how gendered components evolve over time, but also that certain components of a gender index may be considered masculine in one subgroup (e.g., older generations), and feminine in other subgroups (e.g., younger generations).…”

“…A second indication of the independence of sex and data-driven gender indices is the great variability in gender scores in both female and male participants. 2 , 28 , 32 , 33 , 48 …”

“…Ultimately, 24 articles that describe 26 gender indices are included in this review ( Table 1 , Appendix 2 ). 2 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 …”

“…(2024) 27 x THORESCI-Gender study (The Netherlands; 2020–2021; N = 532; 16% female) Gender norm score, ranging from 0 to 10 with higher scores indicating female gender roles Civil status Occupational status Primary earnership Education level Household task division 2 Vader et al. (2023) 28 x Doetinchem Cohort Study (The Netherlands; 2008–2012; N = 4017; 53% female) Masculine gender score, ranging from 0 to 19 with higher scores referring to more masculine connotated aspects of everyday life Work and education Division of paid work between respondent and partner Physical intensity of work Educational level compared to partner Informal care Time spent on household chores Time spent on odd jobs Frequency of taking care of sick people Lifestyle Physical intensity/type of sport Smoking cigars or pipe Type of alcohol consumption Emotions Limitations in work and activities due to emotional problems Experiencing feelings of nervousness Feeling energetic and vibrant Feeling exhausted and tired 3 Mommersteeg et al. (2023) 29 x Duch community sample (The Netherlands; 2019; N = 678; 54% female) Gender norm score, ranging from 0 to 14 with higher scores indicating a feminine profile Civil status Education level Employment status Primary earnership Household responsibilities Caretaking of children at home Informal caregiving 4 De Breij et al.…”

Applicability of Retrospective and Prospective Gender Scores for Clinical and Health Data: Protocol for a Scoping Review (Preprint)

“…The sexual identity may be different to someone's physical appearance or biological sex [4]. Despite the known importance of gender on health, gender is currently not sufficiently represented in health science and for most diseases it is not possible to differentiate between sex and gender effects yet [5].The work of Vader et al [6], for instance, highlights the importance of gender and showed that gender can be seen as a mediator of sex differences. Specifically, a model considering gender showed that sex differences in chronic health problems narrowed or almost disappeared.…”