Man-flu is a real problem caused by hormonal differences from women, researchers revealed last night.
The male hormone testosterone seems to weaken men’s ability to develop immune system protection against flu, researchers found.
The researchers say they have now found an improved explanation for this problem – which has been known for some time.
The study, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, found that men with high testosterone levels benefited less from the flu vaccine than those with low levels of the hormone or women.
The hormone is known to have anti-inflammatory properties – but the new study suggests it works to dampen the immune system by interacting with a number of genes, known as Module 52 genes, rather than on its own.
One theory is that men in the past were prone to infections from minor injuries, sustained in fighting and hunting, and that an over-active immune system would pose a greater threat than infection itself – because it can lead to problems such as sepsis and high fever.
Researcher Professor Mark Davis said: "This is the first study to show an explicit correlation between testosterone levels, gene expression and immune responsiveness in humans.
"It could be food for thought to all the testosterone-supplement takers out there."
PNAS 23 December 2013
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