Masculine gender affects sex differences in the prevalence of chronic health problems .

Both (biological) sex and (socio-cultural) gender are relevant for health but in large-scale studies specific gender measures are lacking. Using a masculine gender-score based on 'traditional masculine-connotated aspects of everyday life', we explored how masculinity may affect sex differences in the prevalence of chronic health problems. We used cross-sectional data (2008-2012) from the Doetinchem Cohort Study to calculate a masculine gender-score (range 0-19) using information on work, informal care, lifestyle and emotions.