Women live longer but live more years with health problems than men, according to a study published by Lancet Public Health. Urgent intervention is needed to improve women's health globally, say researchers.
The price women pay for longevity – Shutterstock Photo
According to a study looking at the 20 leading causes of disease globally, there are significant differences between women's and men's health, with limited progress in reducing the disparities over the past three decades. The findings were published in the journal Lancet Public Health, The Guardian reports.
The study found that conditions that are not fatal but cause illness and disability, such as musculoskeletal problems, mental health disorders and headaches, particularly affect women.
On the other hand, men suffer disproportionately from diseases that cause premature death, including cardiovascular disease, respiratory and liver diseases, Covid-19 and road accidents.
And disparities in health status increase with age, leaving women with higher levels of disease and disability throughout their lives because they generally live longer than men.
“This report makes it clear that over the past 30 years, global progress in health has been uneven. Women live longer but live more years in poor health, with limited progress in reducing the burden of disease and DISABLED, which underscores the urgent need to pay more attention to the non-fatal consequences that limit physical and mental function in women, especially at older ages. Similarly, men face a much higher and increasing burden of fatal diseases,” says the study's lead author, Dr. Luisa Sorio Flor of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington.
Moreover, the study is a call for countries to boost the reporting of sex and gender data.
“The timing is right for this study and this call to action – not only because of where the evidence now stands, but also because Covid-19 starkly reminded us that gender differences can have a profound impact on health outcomes. A key point the study highlights is how women and men differ in a number of biological and social factors that fluctuate and sometimes accumulate over time, causing them to experience health and illness differently in every stage of life and in different regions of the world“, she also said.
“The challenge now is to design, implement and evaluate ways to prevent and treat the leading causes of morbidity and premature mortality by sex and gender, from an early age and among diverse populations.“, adds Dr. Luisa Sorio Flor.
The main ailments of women and men
The study looked at gender differences in the 20 leading causes of illness and death, using data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. The analysis included general conditions, excluding those specific to each sex, such as gynecological conditions or prostate cancers.
The results show a higher rate of illness and death in men for 13 of the top 20 causes, including Covid-19, road injuries and various cardiovascular, respiratory and liver diseases. On the other hand, the findings suggest that women are more affected by lower back pain, depressive disorders, headaches, anxiety, bone and muscle disorders, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, and HIV/AIDS. And these conditions lead to lifelong illness and disability instead of premature death.
“It is clear that women's health care needs to expand far beyond the areas that health systems and research funding have prioritized to date, such as sexual and reproductive issues. Conditions that disproportionately impact women in all regions of the world, such as depressive disorders, are significantly underfunded compared to the massive burden they carry, with only a small fraction of global government health spending going to mental health conditions .”, said Gabriela Gil, from IHME, co-author of the study.
“Future health system planning must encompass the full spectrum of issues affecting women throughout their lives, especially given the higher level of disability they suffer and the increasing proportion of women to men in within aging populations.“, she adds.
According to data provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, women's life expectancy is on average about 5 years longer than men's.
In all regions of Europe, women live longer than men, Eurostat data says. Average life expectancy in EU countries is 80.1 years. Women in Europe live an average of 82.9 years, almost 6 years longer than men, who have an average life expectancy of 77.2 years.
