Gender differences in parent-reported child health among a UK cohort born 1991-2

Abstract

Background Past research and systematic reviews suggest a ‘gender reversal’ in the distribution of several mental and physical health problems, with higher male prevalence rates in childhood replaced by higher rates among females in adolescence. This work highlights a need for evidence on whether this ‘gender reversal’ exists in both a wider range of physical morbidity measures and in parent-reported morbidity during childhood and adolescence. Our study examines gender differences in parent-reported child physical morbidity in a …