Gender Differences in Healthcare Utilization in Later Life

Abstract

The discourse on gender and health frequently asserts that older women are universally more vulnerable to social, economic and health disadvantages than men. Most societies generally observe a nearly universal pattern of longer life expectancy among women, but in itself longer life conveys relatively little about the quality of life and burden of non-fatal disease during the extended years. Empirical studies from developed countries tend to observe that women report higher rates of morbidity and higher healthcare utilization than men. However, morbidity disadvantage among women diminishes with age; gender differences in self-rated health often vanish or are reversed in old age (Arber and Ginn, 1993). Although there is no similar debate regarding higher mortality rates among males, recent studies indicate that the pattern of gender differences in morbidity and healthcare utilization may be more complex, and they vary by measures of health, by symptoms, and across the life course (Macintyre et al., 1996; see also Chapter 14 by Hunt et al.).

The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.