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LETTERS: David Batty, Agnes Ayton, and George Davey Smith Are sex and death related? BMJ 1998; 316: 1671a [Full text]

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The Macho Persona

Nicola J Davies   (30 December 2004)

The Macho Persona 30 December 2004
Nicola J Davies, Health Psychologist in Training Luton University, Bedfordshire, LU1 3JU Send response to journal: Re: The Macho Persona	The strengths of this cohort study are masked by its many flaws, one of which I would like to discuss here. The researchers appear to have failed to account for the fact that participants may have felt very uncomfortable discussing their sex life with a medical interviewer. It is plausible to assume that some of the particpants may have been embarrassed by this whole procedure and therefore may have withheld the lack of or intensity or their sexual activity, especially if it was non-existent or verging on promiscuity. Also, with the extensive research carried out on the male ego, is it not possible that some of the participants may have exaggerated their accounts of sexual activity in order to maintain a sense of masculinity? Such questions are an important addition to any study delving in to such a sensitive human experience. Competing interests: None declared