Anyone who has ever accused their husband, father or boyfriend of malingering when they come down with the sniffles may be feeling a bit guilty right now - because apparently, man-flu is no myth.
A team from the University of Cambridge have released research which suggests that men tend to catch more infectious diseases than women and that when they do, they suffer worse and for longer.
By applying a mathematical model to the different factors that charecterise men and women, the team say that they predict that as men tend to be more adventurous this exposes them to more diseases but their immune systems are more vulnerable.
While ill, men’s bodies invest more energy in ensuring that while ill they are still able to reproduce, but allow them to be reinfected quickly, as they do not need as strong immune systems as women. The scientists said that men are programmed to compete more with each other than women, working on the principle of ‘live hard, die young’, meaning that their bodies are less concerned about strengthening their immune systems.
The team also theorised that male hormones interfere with their ability to fight off infections like influenza.
Published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society Biological Sciences, the study, lead by Dr. Oliver Restif and Dr. William Amos, used theories of evolution to see how male and female defence systems lead to a difference between the sexes in coping with illness.
They concluded that across the species, the male tends to be the weaker in terms of immunity and that even if they have strong immune systems they are liable to frequent reinfection.
So, I would like to take this chance to issue an apology to my father (though it must be said that the riskiest and most adventurous activity he engages in is his daily constitutional to the newsagents.) You weren’t faking it and I will ply you with Lemsip and daughterly affection next time you’re feeling sneezy.