Exploring the Influence of Sex and Gender on Cancer: A Comprehensive Analysis

Our aim was to untangle the effect of biological sex and psychosocial gender on rates of self-reported cancer.

For this study, the Austrian Health Information Survey 2019 was used. Individuals with cancer (n = 415) were selected and divided by sex (female 53.3%). Descriptive results were reported as mean/standard deviation or frequency/percentage. Next, the cancer versus non-cancer and female versus male cancer cohorts were compared by using a chi-square test or an unpaired t-test. By logistic regression models adjusted by age, the association of cancer, biological sex, and gender-related variables (including employment status, educational level, marital status, household income and size) was investigated in the total cohort, as well as stratified by sex.

Self-reported cancer was positively related with being unemployed/retired versus employed (OR 2.06, p < 0.001), being married versus single (OR 1.90, p = 0.005), household size over 1 compared to 1 (OR 1.42, p = 0.025), self-reported depression (OR 2.13, p < 0.001), and former smoking (OR 1.84, p < 0.001). A negative relation between having cancer and being a daily smoker was seen (OR 0.22, p = 0.006). No association between cancer and biological sex was found. Similar correlations of gender-related variables on cancer rates were found in the sex-disaggregated analyses; however, marital status as well as daily smoking were not associated with cancer diagnosis in males. In contrast to males, in females former smoking and alcohol consumption showed no association with cancer rates.

Our findings suggest that gender-related variables, rather than biological sex, are associated with sel-reported cancer.