- With Mayo Clinic oncologist
Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
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Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
Edward Creagan, M.D.
"The magic of the electronic village is transforming health information. The mouse and keyboard have extended the stethoscope to the 500 million people now online." — Dr. Edward Creagan
The power of the medium inspires Dr. Edward Creagan as he searches for ways to share Mayo Clinic's vast resources with the general public.
Dr. Creagan, a Newark, N.J., native, is board certified in internal medicine, medical oncology, and hospice medicine and palliative care. He has been with Mayo Clinic since 1973 and in 1999 was president of the staff of Mayo Clinic.
Dr. Creagan, a professor of medical oncology at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, was honored in 1995 with the John and Roma Rouse Professor of Humanism in Medicine Award and in 1992 with the Distinguished Mayo Clinician Award, Mayo's highest recognition. He has been recognized with the American Cancer Society Professorship of Clinical Oncology.
He describes his areas of special interest as "wellness as a bio-psycho-social-spiritual-financial model" and fitness, mind-body connection, aging and burnout.
Dr. Creagan has been an associate medical editor with Mayo Clinic's health information websites and has edited publications and CD-ROMs and reviewed articles.
"We the team of (the website) provide reliable, easy-to-understand health and wellness information so that each of us can have productive, meaningful lives," he says.
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Stress blog
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April 4, 2012
Men respond more aggressively than women to stress
By Edward T. Creagan, M.D.
It's obvious that men and women respond differently to stress. The roots may lie in our genes and in our past.
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Historically as humans developed, the male was the hunter, often under dangerous conditions. When faced with adversity, such as a lion or a tiger, the male would experience the "fight or flight" response. The pulse quickens. The pupils dilate. The blood pressure increases and blood is forced into the muscles for strength.
On the other hand, the female was the protector who stayed with and cared for the children. Typically, the female would have a "tend and befriend" response — a less aggressive response to stress.
We now understand that a single gene, a piece of chromosome, may account for these differences. The SRY protein located on the Y chromosome, which determines maleness, seems to be a factor in regulating the release of chemicals and hormones directly related to the response to stress. So, the way we behave under stress may reflect some genetic differences.
An experience I had this morning drove the point home to me. I was caught in traffic and noticed that the two adolescent males in cars next to me were not happy campers. They looked frustrated and they were not demonstrating mature coping skills. On the other hand, the women drivers around me didn't exhibit that sort of behavior. They seemed calm and even accepting, as if acknowledging that this is just the way it is.
Perhaps this explains why women outlive men by an average of 8 to 10 years. What do you think? Are these differences real? What can we learn from them?
7 comments posted
April 24, 2013 5:05 p.m.
Without any real medical training behind me other than being a frequent flyer for my own medical issues. This lets say “medical discovery”, brings up a couple questions in this laymen’s mind. Since “Typically, the female would have a "tend and befriend" response — a less aggressive response to stress.” They have approved recently allowing women into more combat roles. With that said will they be aggressive enough to with stand the stress of combat? Then on the men’s side since the “Y” chromosome hold this so called key, in the males aggressiveness can they then develop some kind of shot or pill that will help everyone with PTSD? This would not only be helpful for men but also women who have their own share of PTSD caused by a number of things but primarily rape victims.
- John
June 12, 2012 6:24 a.m.
yea, i also support this theory, because i studied that....In stressful situations, men respond more aggressively than women, and the reaction is controlled by Y-chromosome gene, Australian scientists say.The scientists believe the SRY gene, which directs male development, may promote aggression and other traditionally male behavioural traits resulting in the fight-or-flight reaction to stress. Research has shown how the body reacts to stress by activating the adrenal glands, which secrete catecholamine hormones into the bloodstream and trigger the aggressive fight-or-flight response.
- No name given
April 11, 2012 4:22 p.m.
Thank you for this very interesting article. I am in awe of the science that can now explain the "how" of our behaviors. I think these genetic factors are equally or more important than learned behaviors and that this will become more evident with future discoveries. Perhaps this knowledge of the genetics of aggression will someday greatly benefit us, like in preventing diseases or reducing violent crimes, even wars! Okay, maybe I'm getting overly optimistic here...but maybe not.
- Kathy
April 10, 2012 12:55 p.m.
I agree with your theory of inherited male response to stress or threat. The mature male response to anger or frustration of many kinds is, I believe, a learned response through maturity. As Thomas Jefferson said, "If you're angry count to 10. If you're very angry, count to 100. We have to take time to cool down and handle our anger responsibly.
- Paul
April 10, 2012 12:41 a.m.
I;m always really cautious when leaning too much upon evolution and our natural tendencies. Surely SOME are there but times have changed and so has our context as human beings. While I know you don't mean that women have NO fight or flight, I feel like you are too quick to say that women go for "tend and befriend." I could probably use myself as an example! I actually have an anxiety disorder so waiting around (traffic), and stressors be them mild irritations or major life events cause a huge fight or flight response in me. I most certainly act more with aggression than with "tend and befriend." Going back to evolution, I think the change in context makes this a completely different problem. Response to a stressor seems to me to depend more on context than chromosomal differences. I think hormones DO have something to do with women living longer but I don't think stress response is necessarily the reason.
- Kelly
April 8, 2012 7:02 a.m.
Is there ANYTHING that men do not respond to more aggressively than women? This is a lot of noise about something that doesn't take science to reveal.
- Peter
April 4, 2012 1:42 p.m.
It appears like you had a different reaction to being caught in traffic than the other two examples. You were more the observer who used the situation as a learning experience. I suppose your longevity of life would be somewhere in the middle for being able to put yourself outside the situation.
- carol
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