Early inequalities in excellent health and performance among young adult women and men in Sweden |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Gynaecological Cancers Group, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia;2. Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston Road, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia;3. Gynaecological Oncology Research Group, Division of Cancer Sciences, University of Manchester, St Mary''s Hospital, Oxford Road, Manchester, United Kingdom;4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom;5. Westmead Hospital, Department of Gynaecologic Oncology, Sydney, Australia;6. Queensland Centre of Gynaecological Research, Royal Brisbane and Women''s Hospital, Herston, Queensland, Australia;7. The University of Adelaide, School of Paediatrics and Reproductive Health, Adelaide, Australia;8. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia;9. Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The University of Western Australia, Crawley, Western Australia, Australia;10. Molecular Cancer Epidemiology Group, QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute, Brisbane, Australia;2. Departments of Preventive Medicine and Psychology, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA;3. Department of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of California, San Diego, California, USA |
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| Abstract: | Background: Although health inequality between young adult women and men has been strikingly evident in symptoms of ill health, we found no studies examining these inequalities with a focus on positive health and performance.Objective: The aim of the present study was to examine possible inequalities between young adult women and men in a combined assessment of positive health and health-related performance.Methods: Women and men aged 18 to 25 years studying medicine or computer science at 6 colleges/universities in 5 cities in Sweden were recruited for this study. All respondents answered a Web-based questionnaire regarding health, health-related performance, information and communication technology exposure, mood, and individual factors. A combined assessment of excellent health and health-related performance (EHHP) was defined and tested. Prevalence ratios (PRs) with 95% CIs of EHHP were calculated separately for female and male respondents. To assess potential determinants of EHHP, differences in the relationships between EHHP and the explanatory factors were compared for both sexes.Results: In a study group of young adult students consisting of 1046 women and 1312 men, women were less likely than men to have EHHP (PR 0.90 [95% CI, 0.83–0.98]). This inequality was even stronger within each course of study (medicine or computer science). Health-related factors showed similar patterns of relationship to EHHP for women and men; however, the strength of these relationships differed between the sexes. Logical relationships were observed between EHHP and almost all of the symptoms as well as between EHHP, the mood index, and health-related behavior.Conclusions: The well-known inequality in symptoms of ill health between young adult women and men was prevalent even in a combined assessment of positive health and health-related performance. That this inequality was prevalent in a relatively homogeneous sample of young adults indicates the importance of gender-based psychological and psychosocial factors beyond the more well-known structural gender-differentiating factors of vertical and horizontal segregation and disproportional responsibilities for domestic work. It may therefore be essential to emphasize these gender-based psychological and psychosocial factors when designing future studies and health promotion programs. |
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