title: Combining job and family demands and being healthy: what are the differences between men and women?
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The objective of this study is to analyse gender inequalities in the combination of job and family life and their effect on health status and use of health care services.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data come from the Navarra Survey of Working Conditions (Spain, 1997) carried out on a sample of 2185 workers. The analysis was restricted to 881 men and 400 women, aged 25-64 years, who were married or cohabiting. Dependent variables were self-perceived health status, psychosomatic symptoms, and medical visits, all of them dichotomized. Independent variables were family demands and number of hours of paid work a week. The analysis was adjusted for age and occupational social class. Multivariate logistic regression models, separated by sex, were fitted in order to calculate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Family demands were not associated with men's health whereas married women who lived in family units of more than three members had a higher risk of poor self-perceived health status (aOR=4.16; 95% CI: 1.37-12.65) and of psychosomatic symptoms (aOR=2.05; 95% CI: 1.12-3.75). Among women, working more than 40 hours a week was also associated with both health indicators and, additionally, with a higher probability of medical visits.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In order to fully understand social determinants of workers' health, besides social class, gender inequalities in the distribution of family responsibilities should be considered.
authors.affiliation: Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. lartazco@imsb.bcn.es
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Artazcoz
authors.forename: Liliana
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Artieda
authors.forename: Carme
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Borrell
authors.forename: Imma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cortès
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Benach
authors.forename: Vega
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: García
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004651:Employment; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D006305:Health Status Indicators; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology