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Gender and health in rural China: evidence from HeBei province

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  • Anson, Ofra
  • Sun, Shifang

Abstract

Gender differences in health and health behavior are well established in Western societies, but little is known about gender health inequalities in rural China. We examine patterns of age-sex differences in health and health behavior of men and women in rural HeBei, People's Republic of China, and consider the extent to which these patterns resemble gender health inequalities observed in North America and Western Europe. The data analyzed were collected from 14,895 individuals residing in 288 villages in the HeBei Province. The results show that gender differences emerged at a later age than generally reported in Western societies. Poorer health among women, as compared with men, becomes observable during young adulthood (25-44) rather than at adolescence, and reached its peak among older adults (45-59) rather than during the productive and reproductive stage of the life course. Among the elderly, the differences between the health and the health behavior of men and women narrowed, similar to many reports in North America and Western Europe. Most importantly, no gender differences in mental health were observed. These findings suggest that the older adult age group (45-59) may be appropriate for interdisciplinary efforts to advance the understanding regarding the relative contributions of nature and nurture to gender differences in health.

Suggested Citation

  • Anson, Ofra & Sun, Shifang, 2002. "Gender and health in rural China: evidence from HeBei province," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 55(6), pages 1039-1054, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:55:y:2002:i:6:p:1039-1054
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    Cited by:

    1. Chang Hoon You & Young Dae Kwon & Sungwook Kang, 2019. "Sex Differences in Factors Affecting Hospital Outpatient Department Visits: Korea Health Panel Survey Data from 2009 to 2016," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(24), pages 1-11, December.
    2. Chen, Qihui & Chen, Yu & Zhao, Qiran, 2020. "Impacts of boarding on primary school students’ mental health outcomes – Instrumental-Variable evidence from rural northwestern China," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 39(C).
    3. Anning Hu, 2014. "The Health Benefits of College Education in Urban China: Selection Bias and Heterogeneity," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 115(3), pages 1101-1121, February.
    4. Roy, Kakoli & Chaudhuri, Anoshua, 2008. "Influence of socioeconomic status, wealth and financial empowerment on gender differences in health and healthcare utilization in later life: evidence from India," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 66(9), pages 1951-1962, May.
    5. Qingyuan Xue & Nopphol Witvorapong, 2022. "Effects of Socioeconomic Status on Aging People’s Health in China," Journal of Family and Economic Issues, Springer, vol. 43(3), pages 476-488, September.
    6. Anson, Ofra, 2004. "Utilization of maternal care in rural HeBei Province, the People's Republic of China: individual and structural characteristics," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 70(2), pages 197-206, November.

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    Keywords

    China Gender Rural health;

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