Women’s health is different than men’s, but there is not much focus on it. Women are diagnosed with diseases and ailments that are less common for men. Research needs to be done on why certain diseases impact women more than men, but until then awareness should be raised. Whether it’s a disease that only affects women or an ailment that disproportionately impacts them, below are five ailments that are more commonly found in women.
Breast Cancer
When it comes to breast health, women are much more at risk for cancer. Hundreds of thousands of women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year; there is a 1 in 8 chance that a woman will develop breast cancer in her lifetime. That’s why there are so many charities and groups raising awareness for breast cancer. More research needs to be done on how to prevent breast cancer and treat it when a woman does get diagnosed with it. While men can get breast cancer, it is much rarer. When you think of ailments that are more women’s issues than men’s, you probably think of breast cancer first, but there are other types of cancer that impact women.
Cervical Cancer
Cervical cancer is dangerous not just because it is cancer, but because it can also go undetected. Cancer in the cervix can begin as human papillomavirus (HPV) that doesn’t have symptoms. With over 200 types of HPV, many of them can go undetected. It is imperative to get tested for STDs routinely even if you don’t have any symptoms. If you have HPV and don’t know it, women can develop cervical cancer. Starting in the cervix, the cancer can spread to other parts of the body. While symptomless HPV may not harm men at all, it can lead to cancer in women.
Arthritis
More than 1 in 4 adults is diagnosed with arthritis, but the rate is actually more common in women. Women are more at risk for arthritis than men–26 percent of women are at risk for the ailment while 18 percent of men are diagnosed. Arthritis causes pain in the joints and bones, making it difficult to move around, sit for longer periods, and stand for an extended time. Arthritis is never fun to have, but why do women get it more commonly than men? We don’t know that yet, but if more research is done we could find out why women get arthritis more commonly and learn how to prevent it.
Alzheimer’s
A form of dementia, Alzheimer’s is more common than any other type of this disease. Alzheimer’s is a brain-degenerative disease that affects women more than it does men. In fact, two-thirds of the people who are diagnosed with the disease are women. It is a genetic disorder. Women who have the gene are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s as men who had the gene according to a study from Stanford University. In men’s cases, carrying the gene had little to do with development of the disease. Degrading the memory and mind over time, Alzheimer’s is a disease that never heals. It often leads to the person’s death. While we know that women suffer from Alzheimer’s more commonly, we don’t know why that is.
Ailments from Pregnancy
Finally, another significant detail on women’s health comes from the fact that they go through pregnancy and labor. Many issues can arise from it, including postpartum depression, complications during labor, and even death in some cases. Other conditions include gestational diabetes, which is an illness that arises when a mother’s blood sugar concentration falls during pregnancy. There are many different conditions that can occur both during and after pregnancy, more attention needs to be paid to these ailments to understand why.
These five ailments that are more commonly found in women are just the beginning. Women and men develop different diseases and new research should be done to find out why each of these ailments impacts women more than it does men. Each disease is different, and some of the reasons that a disease may be more common in women could be other factors in the social lives of women and not their health. Whatever the reason, it’s necessary to determine why some diseases are more common in women and what can be done to prevent them.
