Whether it’s genetics, brain chemistry, hormones or lifestyle, we see women tend to get some diseases more than men. The lifelong battle of women’s health is all about dealing with hormonal imbalance and what comes with it.
Moreover, there has been less research into women’s health in comparison to men even when they make up half the population. It is disappointing that their reproductive health and change in hormones is not considered when dealing with a number of diseases. The constant change in hormones, pregnancy, stress and lifestyle makes women more susceptible to some diseases.
Even when research is done for some diseases, only men and postmenopausal women are part of these studies. So the results are always skewed and may not apply to different age groups when these diseases start occurring. The researchers may not even use female mice in the studies as their hormones interfere with the tests. However, that’s the exact thing that needs to be studied.
Alzheimer’s Disease
The reason for two-thirds of American Women out of all Alzheimer’s patients is still unknown. But it does impact women more. It may be due to genetics or brain inflammation. Sometimes stress may also play a role. Also if a person has APOE4 gene, then they may get Alzheimer’s and Dementia. And if there are two copies of these genes, there will be four times more chance that a woman
Multiple Sclerosis
This is an autoimmune disease that impacts the nerves in the brain and spinal cord. Women are 4 times more likely to get it compared to men. Some of the risk factors are stress and smoking. Besides, hormones such as estrogen, inflammation, weight gain(more fat) and vitamin D deficiency may also be the culprit.
Misogynists used to just call this hysteria or the female disease.
In reality, women suffer from auto immune diseases 4x the rate of men.
Women can go for decades without getting a proper diagnosis or treatment, I really can’t stand it when people dismiss illness like this. pic.twitter.com/gNho7ffJcu— Christina (@forestofcake) January 7, 2024
Gallstones
Up to 20% of American women may get it by 60, as it may impact women three times more than men. The organ located behind the liver may develop stones, which are solid lumps of bile and cholesterol. Some symptoms include vomiting, fever, and chills. Women who have had multiple pregnancies are also predisposed to getting it.
Lupus
This is another autoimmune disease that shuts down different body parts. Women may get it more because of genetics and hormones. They may go through X chromosome inactivation and develop lupus.
Migraines
Sometimes your headache may develop into migraine with excruciating local pain and nausea. Women get it more often, but there is no exact reason to point out here. They may become sensitive to light and even sound at times. A severe migraine may last for up to a day. Menopause and stress may also be the culprits.
Women are more likely to die from almost every illness and disease than men are because medical science is studied on men, not women, with very few exceptions.
Science knows little about female bodies and the medical system doesn’t know what to do with female bodies because… https://t.co/c3qBHix6n6
— Echo 🔆 (@TheEcho13) March 2, 2024
Anxiety
Mental health and anxiety are related. So if your mental health is deteriorating, you may develop anxiety. This is more common in women than in men due to different thought patterns. So we can blame the brain chemistry here. Sometimes women are in survival mode with the fight or flight systems activated. Hormones may also impact anxiety levels.
Osteoporosis
We know women may get brittle bones as they age. Over 80% of Americans are impacted by this due to hormonal changes, deficiency, and menopause. Moreover, women have thinner bones than men.
We need to take women’s health more seriously and do more research on how to prevent these. Besides, treatment and prevention should go hand in hand. Also, women should pay more attention to brain health and physical strength to be in good health.
