Another theory for the discrepancy in the scores is that men women may just be more open and willing to admit to difficulties on self-report evaluations. Perhaps women are more likely to recognize the symptoms or to admit to having depression. Maybe men, whether consciously or unconsciously, play down symptoms or disabilities.
Or maybe women really do suffer from more severe RA symptoms than men? It has been well established that women's hormones play a factor in the disease process. Women are much more likely than men to develop RA, but that disparity decreases greatly for post-menopausal women. Women also experience decreased disease activity and symptoms during pregnancy commonly followed by a resurgence of the disease after delivery. Perhaps the fact that women consistently report worse symptoms and more severe disease is not explained by difference in physical strength or a penchant for complaining.
What do you think? Men- do women suffer more and are men less likely to acknowledge symptoms to their physicians or family or while taking evaluations? Women- do you really think we suffer more than men or are we more likely to discuss it or complain about it openly? Or do you think these results are a function of a one-size-fits-all method of evaluating RA? Are our disease courses and experiences relative to our baseline gender differences?
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