Asked what they fear most in a 2005 Society for Women's Health Research survey on health concerns,1 the number one response for women was breast cancer, even though heart disease and stroke kill nearly 10 times as many women every year. Diseases with strong political lobbies such as breast cancer and HIV/AIDS receive a large amount of public attention, which can lead to some misperceptions regarding women's health risks. A recent study reveals that a disproportionately large share of U.S. federal research dollars is spent on diseases such as breast cancer and HIV/AIDS in relation to the actual toll they take on public health.2 While these diseases and conditions are of great concern, others that are of equal or more threat to women deserve attention.

Some Fast Facts

More women die from heart disease each year than from breast, ovarian, and uterine cancer combined. Heart disease is the number one cause of mortality in women, killing more women than men each year.3
   
In 2002, approximately 63,000 men and 100,000 women died of stroke.3
   
HIV/AIDS is the fifth leading killer of women aged 35-44.4
   
Lung cancer is the leading cancer killer of women, taking the lives of approximately 68,000 women each year. Given the same level of lifetime exposure to cigarette smoke, the risk for developing lung cancer is 20 to 70 percent higher in women than men.3
   
Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer deaths in women, killing almost 30,000 women each year.3
   
Autoimmune diseases are collectively the eighth leading cause of death for women under the age of 65, but their impact on mortality is not well captured by traditional reporting of death statistics. 5

 

Leading Causes of Mortality of Women in the U.S.3

 

1. Poll conducted by International Communications Research of Media, Pa., for the Society for Women’s Health Research, June 22-29, 2005.

2. C.P. Gross, et al. New England Journal of Medicine , 1999 340(24):1881-1886

3. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 53, No. 5, Oct. 12, 2004.

4. National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 53, No. 17 March 7, 2005.

5. Walsh, Stephen J. and Laurie M. Rau. “Autoimmune diseases: A leading cause of death among young and middle-aged women in the United States,” American Journal of Public Health, 2000 90(9):1463-5