Men are More Likely to Develop Physical Illness than Women

A new study conducted by St. Michael's Hospital over a period of 10-years suggests that men more prone to fall ill than women. It was found that having a mental illness increases the risk of developing a physical illness by 10 times in both men and women.

According to the study by Dr. Flora Matheson, a scientist in hospital's Centre for Research on Inner City Health, women with mental illness tend to develop a physical illness a year earlier than men. Women were at a 14 percent reduced risk, of developing physical illness; meaning that men are disadvantaged from a health perspective.

Data from the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Science was studied to see whether gender also had an impact on the relationship between mental illness and onset of physical illnesses.

The researchers found the link between physical and mental illness as new studies indicate people with serious mental illness have higher rates of physical ailments such as metabolic syndrome, hypertension and cardiovascular, viral and respiratory diseases.

The study is published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

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