[Do men and women in illness and stress situations show different measures of risk attitude and therapy behaviour?].

We analyse which factors influence patient compliance decision. We built a simple therapy behaviour model reflecting the trade-off between perceived side effects and patient compliance behaviour. A total of 1,034 patients were included in the study utilising a clinical trial in Germany between 2007 and 2008. The separate evaluation of the behavioural model taking into account the variable gender led to the following result: The meaning of single parameters clearly differs for the explanation of patient's compliance behaviour between men and women. Men show more willingness to take a risk in dealing with their therapy and health than women. To do justice to the different behavioural strengths and deficits of men and women in therapy, it is indispensable to consider patient's gender by the development of risk-based health insurance rates.