La percezione di salute delle donne e principali fattori di rischio

In contradiction with the characteristic longevity of women, they show a worse health perception than men. The gender seems to be a key determinant of health perception, although, many factors could explain the gender gap in health: age, loneliness, lifestyle, social background, education, paid work, adaptability and response to stressful events. This study aims to analyze the relationship between the health perceived and disability, age, gender, level of education, marital status, income and paid work, in order to highlight the relationship between these variables and the gender gap in health perception. The analysis was performed on European Social Survey database from 2002 to 2012. It concern 291,385 respondents (46% men and 54% women) from 36 European countries, including Turkey and Israel. Results show the existence of a strong relationship between family income and women's health. Women in the first seven deciles of income declare a poorer health than men . Besides, there is no gender gap for women in the last three deciles of income, if we compare them with men of the same economic group. By deciles of high income, the gender gap in health, than in those low appears to be patently against women, changes direction, this time to the detriment of men. Therefore, a favorable economic position seems to improve women's health perception, more than men’s one. Owning an high income cancels the effect of the gender variable on perceived health.