Women live more years in ill health than men
Global analysis shows stark health inequities between men and women
Women tend to live longer than men , but they also have to deal with more years of poor health , a stark difference that points to significant health disparities between men and women , according to a global study published in The Lancet Public Health . Chronic conditions that aren ’ t fatal but lead to illness and disability , including musculoskeletal and psychological problems as well as neurological disorders , tend to affect women , while men are more subject to conditions causing early death like heart , respiratory and liver diseases , COVID-19 , and road injuries .
These gaps emerge at an early age for several conditions and grow over the years . For instance , depression , anxiety , and road injuries start to affect females and males differently in adolescence , a period of time when gender norms put pressure on young people to conform . This underscores the need for early targeted interventions to prevent or reduce health problems .
“ This report clearly shows that over the past 30 years global progress on health has been uneven ,” the study ’ s senior author Dr Luisa Sorio Flor , assistant professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation ( IHME ) at the University of Washington , told the Guardian .
“ Females have longer lives but live more years in poor health , with limited progress made in reducing the burden of conditions leading to illness and disability , underscoring the urgent need for greater attention to non-fatal consequences that limit women ’ s physical and mental function , especially at older ages . Similarly , males are experiencing a much higher and growing burden of disease with fatal consequences ,” she said .
Health policies based on sex-specific and agespecific data are needed to tackle these disparities , according to the study ’ s authors , meaning that countries should boost their collection and reporting of health data on sex and gender . Gender-based health information is particularly limited , the authors say , making it hard to measure the effects of a key driver of health inequities .
The research is based on data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 but doesn ’ t include sexspecific health problems like gynaecological conditions and prostate cancer . Such data show persistent health
differences between women and men from 1��0 to 2021 .
The researchers also call for improved research on female health as a whole , a necessary step to reduce health disparities , as public health programmes have mostly focused on specific issues , like maternal mortality , for a long time , disregarding other serious conditions affecting women worldwide .
“ It ’ s clear that women ’ s healthcare needs to extend well beyond areas that health systems and research funding have prioritised to date , such as sexual and reproductive concerns ,” the study ’ s co-lead author Gabriela Gil , a researcher at the IHME , told the Guardian . “ Conditions that disproportionately impact females in all world regions , such as depressive disorders , are significantly underfunded compared with the massive burden they exert , with only a small proportion of government health expenditure globally earmarked for mental health conditions .”
GlobalHealthAsiaPacific . com ISSUE 2 | 2024
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