WORLDWIDE — Suffering from the "man flu?" According to one Canadian researcher, the over-exaggerated struggle may just be real.

The term is used to scold men who often exaggerate their cold symptoms when they're sick.

The BMJ Medical Journal says men are more likely to get respiratory diseases compared to women.

The author points out that mouse studies have suggested that testosterone could weaken immune response to influenza, while certain female sex hormones could boost it.

The study also notes that research from the U.S. showed men had higher rates of deaths linked to flu compared to women of the same age. It also pulls data from Hong Kong which shows men had a higher risk of winding up in hospital with seasonal flu than women.

Another part of the study found women were more likely than men to cut down activities when it came to minor respiratory illnesses.

The article also reveals that a survey in a popular magazine found that men took twice as long to recover from such viral illnesses as women.

Many scientists argue that there's still too little evidence to say the “man flu" exists.