Challenging Prevailing Stereotypes about Gender Differences in Health Reporting: Evidence Using Objective Measures of Health from the Health and Retirement Study

Anna Oksuzyan , Bielefeld University
Maciej J. Danko , Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR)
Jennifer Caputo , University of Chicago
Mine Kühn , Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research
Yana Vierboom, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research

Although self-rated health (SRH) is the health indicator most frequently included in large-scale studies, scholars have shown that group differences in SRH should not be taken at face value. Research on gender differences in how individuals evaluate and report their health has been inconclusive, which may be partially attributable to the use of other self-reported measures to estimate reporting bias. Self-reported indicators can be plagued by poor recall, incomplete understandings, and under-diagnosis. Further, studies have yet to investigate gender differences in health reporting across racial and ethnic groups. Leveraging data from the 2016 Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and the Venous Blood Study (VBS) supplement, we investigate whether adjusting for reporting behavior based on biomarkers and other indicators modifies gender differences in general health. We also examine whether gender-specific patterns in health reporting vary across race/ethnicity. Findings show no clear gender differences in prevalences of poor health in the total sample or across race/ethnicity. After adjusting for reporting heterogeneity, a female disadvantage in poor health among Black and Hispanic persons became more apparent. We also found no evidence of gender differences in health reporting. Instead, health reporting appears to be age-dependent, with younger men and women over-reporting and older individuals under-reporting poor health. Consistent with other studies, Hispanic persons appear to over-report their poor health. Our results add to research contesting traditional views that women over-report and men under-report health problems, highlighting that equal attention should be given to the health problems of both genders within all racial/ethnic groups.

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 Presented in Session 30. Health, Wellbeing and Morbidity