Women face higher levels of illness: study
MEN are at higher risk of premature death than women, but women tend to spend more of their lifetime in poor health, according to a new global study published this week in the journal, Lancet Public Health.
The findings, based on data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 to compare the total number of life years lost to illness and premature death, reveal stark differences between women and men across the 20 leading causes of disease over the past 30 years.
It also underscores the need for gender-responsive approaches to health.
Musculoskeletal conditions, mental health conditions and headache disorders, which though non-fatal but lead to poor health, were found to be more prevalent among women. These conditions increase with age. As women tend to live longer than men, they face higher levels of illness and disability throughout their lives.
Men were found to be affected by Covid-19, road injuries, cardiovascular diseases, and respiratory and liver diseases – all leading to their premature death.
“One key point the study highlights is how women and men differ in many biological and social factors that fluctuate and, sometimes, accumulate over time, resulting in them experiencing health and disease differently at each stage of life and across world regions,” said Luisa Sorio Flor of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington in the US.
“The challenge now is to design, implement and evaluate sex-and-gender informed ways of preventing and treating the major causes of morbidity and premature mortality from an early age and in diverse populations,” Flor said.
Ischaemic heart disease, lung cancer and chronic kidney disease tend to affect men at young ages. Covid, the leading cause of health loss in 2021, affected 45% more men than women.
“The timing is right for this study and calls to action – not only because of where the evidence is now, but because Covid-19 has reminded us that sex differences can impact health outcomes,” Flor said.