Abstract
Background Gender differences in exposure to social resources play a significant role
in influencing gender inequalities in health. A related question – and our focus - asks if
these inequalities are also influenced by gendered vulnerabilities to social forces.
Specifically, this paper examines the differential impact of social forces on the health of
elderly (65+) men and women.
Methods Multiple linear regression analysis is used to estimate gender differences in the
influence of socio-economic, lifestyle, and psychosocial factors on both self-rated health
and functional health using data from the 1994-1995 National Population Health Survey.
Results Key findings include: 1) the relationship between income and health is stronger
for older women, whereas the converse holds for education; 2) having an acceptable body
weight is positively associated with health for elderly women only; 3) social support has
a beneficial effect on health for older women only, yet women who are married/living
common-law have poorer health than women living alone; and 4) stress-related factors
are stronger determinants of health for older women.
Keywords Gender; Health Inequalities; Elderly Canadians
Acknowledgments We gratefully acknowledge the support of Statistics Canada. We