Dr Phil Darbyshire, a consultant paediatric haematologist at Birmingham's Children's Hospital, said the findings echoed anecdotal evidence from patients.
Away from sporting achievements, Mrs Darbyshire was honoured for her role in the scout movement where she is now responsible for more than 600 children.
Hailing from the U.K., Cambridge-educated Darbyshire is a former barrister and management consultant who helped launch a California wine company, and was a strategy executive at a number of dotcoms during the halcyon days of Web 1.0.