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Is the "human flu" real? Study suggests disease can hit men harder

As winter rolls around town, the flu and all its miserable symptoms. Yet doctors and women have long noted that men tend to deplore these symptoms more than women. The phenomenon even has a name: the "human flu". So, are men just wimps? No, a new analysis done in Canada suggests that respiratory diseases can affect men harder than women. According to the author of the study, Dr. Kyle Sue, "there are already many physiological differences between men and women, so it makes sense that we can also differ in our responses to cold and flu viruses" .
Sue is Assistant Clinical Professor of Family Medicine at the Health Sciences Center at Memorial University of Newfoundland. "The evidence in current studies indicates that men have a weaker immune system than women, especially when it comes to common viral respiratory infections," Sue said. "Men are more sensitive to them, the symptoms are worse, they last longer, and men are more likely to be hospitalized and die of the flu." To compare how influenza symptoms manifest in women and men, Sue examined a number of studies involving both animals and humans. An investigation in Hong Kong suggested that when the flu hits, adult men are at greater risk of being admitted to the hospital than their female counterparts. Another US study also found that, other things being equal, men appear to be at a higher risk of dying from the flu than women. Another survey found that men are more at risk for developing complications than women with influenza and other respiratory diseases. In addition, several mouse studies have suggested that hormonal differences between men and women may actually provide women with better protection against all flu symptoms. Other patient studies have also indicated that the onset of influenza can trigger a stronger immune response in women than in men, mitigating the impact of symptoms. And yet another study found that women tend to develop a stronger reaction to influenza vaccine than men, perhaps because high levels of testosterone in men tend to inhibit the overall immune response. The analysis was published on December 11 in the BMJ. Sue acknowledged that more research is needed. But he suggested that the results to date indicate that the "human flu" has a basis in reality. "Men are regularly stereotyped to exaggerate the symptoms of colds and flu," Sue said. "This is how the term" human flu "has become so commonly used internationally, regardless of cultural differences," he said. "[But] from my clinical work, my personal experiences, and my social circles, I've seen men suffer from colds and flu, in other words, be less functional." And Sue added that if the basics of "human flu" are real, it could mean that influenza treatment may need to be adapted to deal with gender differences. "Treating both sexes in exactly the same way will do both men and women a disservice," said Sue. "We are already examining men earlier for cardiovascular disease because they are more sensitive. Why would it be so controversial for men to suffer from colds and flu?" Dr. Ebbing Lautenbach, head of the Division of Infectious Diseases at Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, said the latest analysis "does a good job of revising the actual data to back up those current impressions." He was not involved in the exam. However, Lautenbach pointed out that the analysis does not prove that "a man's response to a respiratory infection is, in fact, worse than that of a woman and, if so, by how much." Much more Work needs to be done to determine if there are differences and, if so, what biological mechanisms might explain them. "© 2017 HealthDay. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.