Hello and welcome to more or less on the BBC World Service, with a program that asks

all the important questions about bold statistical claims, and I'm Tim Halford.

Last week, the more or less news desk was alerted to a shocking statistical headline that

was being shared on social media.

Ah, typical day in the office you might think, nothing unusual there.

But before we knew it, we were inundated with loyal listeners getting in touch with

us, itching to know whether it could possibly be true.

The requests ranged from the worried.

I find this deeply concerning.

Please could you investigate this?

To the downright disbelieving.

It all sounds a bit scare-monger-y, so can you shed some light on this situation, please?

Well loyal listeners, we are here to answer your call and shed light on the situation we

shall.

But first, let's hear the numerical cause of all that commotion.

Women, 32% more likely to die after operation by male surgeon, study reveals.

That headline was from the UK newspaper The Guardian, and other news outlets quickly scrambled

to repeat the claim.

It's a terrifying figure, particularly if you're a woman about to go under the knife of a male

surgeon.

The headline containing the shocking stat has now been shared far and wide by journalists

and feminist groups who all point to what have been dubbed eye-popping results.

...