Gender Differences in the Ratio of Deaths Caused by Perteussis

Gender Differences in the Ratio of Deaths Caused by Perteussis

Introduction

Commonly known as whooping cough, Pertussis is caused by Bordetella Pertussis and Bordetella paraperteussis, two closely related microorganisms / bacteria that specifically colonize ciliated epithelial cells in the nasopharynx, trachea, bronchi, and the bronchioles of humans. These Gram-negative coccobacilli produce powerful toxins that penetrate tissues, kill cells, and immobilize the ciliary escalator which ultimately leads to the accumulation of thick mucus in the airway.

Perteussis is a respiratory disease which is especially severe in infants and young children. It is one of the most contagious infectious diseases known with transmission rates among household contacts nearing 90%. Owing to the fact that this disease is given little attention, and no sufficient measures are adapted for its prevention and cure, 38,000 cases were recorded in Australia alone, in the year 2011(ncirs 2013), which seems to be the highest number since records started in 1991. However, an interesting thing observed in this regard includes the gender differences, particularly in the number of deaths caused because of this ailment.

Literature Review

Research on gender differences in health, in a wide range of countries has brought an important paradox to the public interest, according to which females use more health services while they report worse self - rated health as compared to males, however, females are less likely to die as compared to the men of their same age all through their life, which indicates that the females, in general, tend to be healthier (National Center for Health Statistics, 2008).

The paradox that females use more health services while they report worse self-rated health as compared to males, however, females are less likely to die as compared to the men of their same age all through their life has been the subject of earlier articles, starting with the work done by Nathanson, which was then followed by numerous others (Feldman, Makuc, Kleinman & Cornoni - Huntley, 2009).There are several possible explanations for the worse self - rated health but lower mortality of women (U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2004). First, there may be gender differences in the distributions of chronic conditions, as influenced by various social factors, biological behavior or other psychological factors as well.

Moving on, a major cause of concern related to Perteussis is its high prevalence in both genders and among all age groups; however; research has shown that it tends to be the most lethal for children, in particular. Nonetheless, it has been observed that on account of various reasons, parents often take the diseases and its preventive measures for granted, which hinders its effective control (Hoey, 2003, pp. 453 - 454).

The aim of this study was to evaluate the nationwide gender differences in the prevalence of Perteussis as a major cause of death, by comparatively analyzing the mortality reports of the year 2012, which were obtained from the database of the Center for Disease Control. For this analysis it was hypothesized that ...