Is the ‘man flu’ real?

Bad news ladies - apparently the men in your lives are not overreacting when they whinge about coming down with the "man flu". 

Perhaps, they need to be shown a little more sympathy with scientists confirming that the man flu is real with men suffering more during the common cold than women.

Researchers say men have weaker immune systems and are more likely to suffer complications.

The doctor responsible for this, Memorial University of Newfoundland in Canada medicine professor Dr Kyle Sue, told The BMJ he started researching the work because he was “tired of being accused of overreacting”.

Dr Sue concluded that based on the existing research, the man flu term was “potentially unjust”, citing studies that suggested men were not exaggerating their symptoms.

A number of studies conducted of cell samples found that differences in male and female sex and stress hormones may affect influenza outcomes to the benefit of women.

He also found that women tend to be more responsible to having flu vaccines than men and that men self-report taking longer to recover from viral respiratory illnesses than women.

He said some studies have also suggested that testosterone may suppress the immune system, pointing to a potential evolutionary basis for man flu.

Dr Sue is calling for further research to help determine if the phenomenon is truly psychological, or if there is a physiological basis to man flu.