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Is gender inequity a risk factor for men reporting poorer self-rated health in the United States?

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journal contribution
posted on 2024-06-18, 09:31 authored by Shane KavanaghShane Kavanagh, JM Shelley, Christopher StevensonChristopher Stevenson
Theoretical approaches suggest that gender inequity increases men's health risks. Previous findings from the United States support this contention, however only a small number of health outcomes have been explored. This study extends the range of health outcomes examined by using a cross-sectional, multilevel analysis to investigate whether measures of state-level gender inequity are predictors of men's self-rated health. Data were derived primarily from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and the full-case data set included 116,594 individuals nested within 50 states. Gender inequity was measured with nine variables: higher education, women's reproductive rights, abortion provider access, elected office, management, business ownership, labour force participation, earnings and relative poverty. Covariates at the individual level were age, income, education, race/ethnicity, marital status and employment status. Covariates at the state level were income inequality and gross domestic product per capita. In fully adjusted models for all-age men the reproductive rights (OR 1.06 95% CI 1.01-1.11), abortion provider access (OR 1.11 95% CI 1.05-1.16) and earnings (OR 1.06 95% CI 1.02-1.12) measures all predicted an increased risk of men reporting poorer self-rated health for each 1 standard deviation increase in the gender inequity z-score. The most consistent effect was seen for the 65+ age group where the reproductive rights (OR 1.09 95% CI 1.03-1.16), abortion provider access (OR 1.15 95% CI 1.09-1.21), elected office (OR 1.06 95% CI 1.01-1.11) and earnings (OR 1.10 95% CI 1.04-1.16) measures all showed a significant effect. These findings provide evidence that some aspects of gender inequity increase the risk of poorer self-rated health in men. The study contributes to a growing body of literature implicating gender inequity in men's health patterns.

History

Journal

PLoS ONE

Volume

13

Article number

ARTN e0200332

Location

United States

Open access

  • Yes

ISSN

1932-6203

eISSN

1932-6203

Language

English

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

2018, Kavana gh et al.

Issue

7

Publisher

PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE