Men's offices are frequently less clean than those occupied by women, researchers at San Diego State University reported. In a new study published in the May 30 edition of the journal PLoS One, the researchers showed men's workspaces had between ten and twenty percent more bacteria than women's on average.
Researchers collected germ samples from 90 offices in several Tuscon, San Francisco and New York City. Of the offices sampled, males in New York had the highest bacteria rate.
The increase in bacteria and germs for men may be due men's larger overall surface area. Also, men generally tend to be less hygienic than women due to less frequent hand washing and teeth brushing.
"You shouldn't be worried in your own office — it's you; it's just a reflection of who you are," said study researcher Scott Kelley, an associate professor of biology at San Diego State University, adding most of the bacteria in an office is "with us all the time, and they don't make us sick."
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