Gender Differences In Health And Diseases- Health Issues Affect Women In Their Life span & how its differ from men

Gender has a broad impact on biologic and disease process and succinctly concluded: gender matters. In this article, I am will explain the most common health issues for which women's suffer mostly in their lifespan. Most common disease for female mortality and a differentiation between man and woman's health issues.

Risk Stage Of Diseases To Affect More:

At menopause, the risk for affected by diseases increase.

Reason:

Menopause occurs at a median age of between 45 years - 55 years of age. In the industrialized world, women spend one-third of their lives in the postmenopausal period. 

In this period estrogen level fall abruptly, inducing a variety of physiologic and metabolic responses.

Leading cause of death in women:

The leading cause of death in man and woman are almost the same. Below is the list of most common diseases:

1. Diseases of heart.
2. Malignant neoplasm
3. Cerebrovascular diseases.
4. Chronic lower respiratory diseases.
5. Alzheimer's disease.
6. Diabetes mellitus.
7. Accidents.
8. Influenza.
9. Nephritic syndrome's, nephritis.
10. Intentional self-harm ( suicide)
11. Assault (homicide).

Gender Differences In Health And Diseases:-

Violence Against Women:-

Domestic violence is the most common cause of physical injury in ladies, exceeding the combined incidence of all other types of injury such as,

• Mugging, 
• Auto accidents.

This is maybe an unrecognized feature of certain clinical presentations such as:

• Chronic abdominal pain.
•  Headaches.
• Substance abuse, and an eating disorder.
• In addition to more obvious manifestations such as trauma.

Alzheimer's disease:

Alzheimer's disease (AD) approximately affects twice as many females as a man. The reason is:

• The risk for AD increases with the age, part of this gender difference is accounted for by for the fact that women live longer than men.

• However additional factor likely contributes to the risk for an AD  in women, including gender differences in brain size, structure and functional organization.

A study shows that women with AD have lower endogenous estrogen level compare to ladies without an AD.

 Coronary Heart Disease:-

Since 1984, more women than men have died of cardiovascular diseases. The coronary heart disease (CHD) death rates have been falling in men over the past 30 years, but they have been increasing in women. The most possible reason behind it:

Women are the more likely effect with CHD after both natural or surgical menopause suggesting that endogenous estrogens are cardioprotective.

• The gonadal steroid has major effects on the cardiovascular system and lipid metabolism.

• Estrogen increases high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL), whereas androgen has the opposite effect.

• Estrogen has direct vasodilatory effects on the vascular endothelium, increase insulin sensitivity, and has antioxidant properties.

This in CHD prevalence, beneficial biologic effects of estradiol on the cardiovascular system, and reduced risk for CHD in observational studies of female receiving PHT led to the widespread use of postmenopausal therapy (PHT) for the prevention of CHD.

Diabetes Mellitus:-

Polycystic ovary syndrome and gestational DM—common conditions in premenopausal women—are associated with a significantly increased risk for type 2 DM. Premenopausal women with DM lose the cardioprotective effect in female and have identical rates of CHD to those in males.

Hypertension:-

After age 60, hypertension is more common in U.S. women than in men, largely because of the high prevalence of hypertension in older age groups and the longer survival of women. Isolated systolic hypertension is present in 30% of women >60 years. Adult hormones affect blood pressure. Both normotensive and hypertensive women have higher blood pressure levels during the follicular phase than during the luteal phase.

Autoimmune Disorder:-

Most autoimmune disorders occur more commonly in ladies than in men; these include

• Autoimmune thyroid and liver diseases,
• Lupus, 
• Rheumatoid arthritis (RA), 
• Scleroderma,
•  Multiple sclerosis(MS), 
• Idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura.

However, there is no inequality in gender in the incidence of type 1 DM, and ankylosing spondylitis occurs more commonly in men.

HIV Infection:-

Women account for almost 50% of the 40 million persons infected with HIV-1 worldwide. AIDS is an important cause of death in younger women. Heterosexual contact with an at-risk partner is the fastest-growing transmission category, and they are more susceptible to HIV infection than men. This increased susceptibility is in part accounted for by an increased prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases in women.

Obesity:-

The prevalence of obesity is higher in female than in the male. Few important notes on it:

• Pregnancy and menopause are risk factors for obesity.

• Women characteristically have gluteal and femoral or gynoid pattern of fat distribution.

• Men typically have a central or android pattern.

• Gonadal steroids appear to be the major regulators of fat distribution through a number of direct effects on adipose tissue.

• Obesity increases the risk of infertility, miscarriage, and complications of pregnancy.

Osteoporosis:-

Osteoporosis is about five times more common in postmenopausal women than in age-matched men, and osteoporotic hip fractures are a major cause of morbidity in elderly women. Men accumulate more bone mass and lose bone more slowly than women.

Psychological Disorder:-

Epidemiological studies from both developed and developing nations consistently find major depression to be twice as common, for example:

• Depression, anxiety.

• Affective and eating disorders (bulimia and anorexia nervosa) are more common in women than in men.

• Depression occurs in 10% of women during pregnancy and in 10–15% of women during the postpartum period.

Summary:-

Women’s health is now a mature discipline, and the importance of gender differences in biologic processes is well-recognized. It is clear that understanding the mechanisms of these differences will have an impact on both women’s and men’s health.