If you are a man, you are more likely to suffer from a health condition that kills you. But if you are a woman, you are more likely to live in poor health. Women They spend 25 percent more of their lives in poor health compared to men. This, in a nutshell, is the gender gap in health.
When a woman enters a hospital, she is less likely to have her pain levels assessed than a man, and if she receives treatment for pain, she will wait longer on average than a man to receive any treatment. If you have a condition that affects only women, you may find that there are no satisfactory treatments. When you are given medications, they may not work as well as expected or may have side effects, as they have likely been tested predominantly on men. Even if you have a condition that affects both sexes, investigation suggests that she will be diagnosed later in life than a man.
These are not the consequences of a single problem, but the product of multiple failures within society in general and the health sector in particular. Sexism within healthcare systems, where women’s symptoms are often ignored and misdiagnosed. Poorly designed clinical trials that predominantly include men. Biased research funding, which is rarely spent on conditions that exclusively affect women, or on finding out how women are specifically affected by certain diseases. And medical schools that don’t do enough to teach about women’s health.
TO recent report The McKinsey Health Institute describes the gender health gap as a “$1 trillion opportunity to improve lives and economies,” such is the magnitude of the imbalance in women’s health care around the world. According to the B.M.J.Closing this gap in the UK could provide a £39 billion ($51 billion) boost to the British economy. It would save lives and increase the well-being of millions of people, both women and men.
Almost two years after the publication of the first UK report Women’s health strategya ten-year plan to improve women’s health around the world, the UK Department of Health announced on Monday that plans to offer “patient passports” digital records of health data that can be accessed by different healthcare providers. The hope is that the move will speed up patient care and minimize errors. In light of this, WIRED has brought together experts from a variety of health disciplines to weigh in on changes that could turn the tide on women’s health quickly and affordably.
Provide early detection programs for polycystic ovary syndrome
Karen Joash, leading specialist in obstetrics and gynecology
Polycystic ovary syndrome, or PCOS, is an endocrine disorder that affects approximately 10 percent of women of reproductive age worldwide. Although the condition is common, delayed diagnosis of PCOS is a major problem that has numerous long-term health consequences. Addressing this backlog should be a government priority due to the substantial impact it has on public health.
Lack of health education is a critical factor contributing to delayed diagnosis: women are often unaware of symptoms such as irregular menstrual cycles, excess hair on parts of the body where there is normally little hair, and acne. Untreated PCOS can lead to serious long-term effects such as cardiovascular disease, infertility, and impaired glucose metabolism, significantly reducing quality of life and increasing healthcare costs.