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A closer look at health
statistics shows a pervasive difference in disease and illness between
the sexes, revealing that a much higher proportion of women suffer from
certain conditions that may not directly cause death. The fact that women
live on average 7 years longer than men tends to increase women's health
care needs, as they are prone to suffer more from chronic conditions as
they age.
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There
are more than 80 known autoimmune diseases, including Systemic
Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis,
juvenile onset diabetes, scleroderma and Grave's disease. Autoimmune
diseases can attack the heart, kidneys, liver,
lungs, blood, and/or brain, therefore they
can become life-threatening1. |
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Hip
fractures
in people with osteoporosis increase risk of death by 24%.
Nearly 50% of those who do survive an osteoporotic hip fracture
lose their independence.2 |
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Almost
all people who commit suicide have a diagnosable mental disorder,
most commonly depression or a substance abuse disorder. Major
depression also increases the risk of having a heart attack.3 |
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Virtually
everyone over the age of 75
is affected in at least one joint by osteoarthritis.4
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Migraine
sufferers
can experience one or more attacks per month, incapacitating them
for hours to days.5 |
Some
Other Leading Causes of Illness in Women
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Alcohol
Abuse |
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Asthma |
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Carpal
Tunnel Syndrome |
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Hypertension |
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Incontinence |
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Irritable
Bowel Syndrome |
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PMS/PMDD |
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Urinary
Tract Infections |
Substance
Use and Dependence
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Women
have higher rates of nicotine dependence than men do.
National Institute
of Drug Abuse, NIDA Notes, Sept./Oct. 1997 |
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The
gender gap in drug experimentation has disappeared. Today adolescent
girls are just as likely as adolescent boys to experiement with
drugs.
U.S. Dept. of Health
and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
Substance Abuse among Women in the United States, 1997 |
Violence
Against Women
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One-quarter
of all women in the U.S. will be abused at some point in their lives.
National Clearinghouse
for the Defense of Battered Women. Excerpts from Statistics Packet.
3rd Edition, December 1994 |
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90%
of women who have been physically abused by their partners do not
discuss these incidents with their physicians; 57% do not discuss
the incidents with anyone.
The Commonwealth
Fund, Survey of Women's Health, July 1993 |
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Battering
acounts for almost one in every five visits to emergency rooms by
women.
Jacobs Institute
of Women's Health. The Women's Health Data Book, 1995 |
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