Men and women, as anyone will know, live with a range of issues specific to either being a man or a woman. Whether its to do with genito-urinary health, hormone imbalances or fat placement, here are 10 of the most common health issues that specifically affect women.
1 – Heart-disease. This is a universal problem but affects women in so far as it is the number one cause of death for women. Many females will mistake the symptoms of heart disease as being hormonal in nature or just feeling ‘under the weather’; yet exhaustion, loss of breath or malaise can be signs of heart disease. Post menopause, lower estrogen levels and higher blood pressure can exacerbate it.
2 – Stroke – again, this is universal. But for women, it’s made more risky by pregnancy. Over excessive blood clotting, or hypercoagulation, increases the risk of a blood clot occurring in the brain, which is essentially what a stroke is. Furthermore, preeclampsia, the medical term for high blood pressure during pregnancy, also increases the risk of a stroke.
3 – Diabetes. Again, this is made worse by pregnancy. It’s by no means exclusive to women, but diabetes actually has a higher risk of causing heart disease in women than it does for men, by about four times as much. But gestational diabetes itself can cause issues; it increases the risk of birth defects as well as miscarriage, and for some women, can stay after birth.
4 – Urinary tract infections. Unfortunately, due to the complex makeup of a woman’s ‘GU’ system, urinary tract infections are a lot more common for women than they are for me, mainly on account of having a narrow urethra. Bacteria has a much shorter trip to the bladder and urinary tract infections essentially feast on the natural bacteria and enzymes in a woman’s GU system.
5 – Osteoporosis (brittle bones.) Women, on average, have a smaller body mass than men, and as such, their bones are also smaller. With that comes in increased risk of osteoporosis. However, post-menopausal women are at an increased risk of this problem due to subtle changes taking place in the body. Additionally, women with a lower BMI run a higher risk still.
6 – Alzheimer’s Disease. Like most of the issues mentioned, this one is not exclusive to women, but they are definitely more susceptible to it. In a recent study, of all of the Alzheimer’s patients in the USA, around two thirds were women. It’s thought this is largely down either to genetics or the fact that women live longer, so experience more of the issues commensurate with old age.
7 – Sexually transmitted infections. Again, because of a shorter urethra, women are more likely to pick up STI’s than men, as their GU tract is a breeding ground for bacteria and viruses. Unlike men, however, diseases such as HPV run an increased risk of causing cervical cancer and infertility.
8 – Breast cancer. Whilst men can and do suffer this issue (if there’s breast tissue, it can turn cancerous) breast cancer is the second most common cancer in women. The presence of BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes further heightens the risk. Essentially, because women have more complex functions in and around their breasts, there is a lot more potential for cancerous cells to develop.
9 – Uterine Fibroids. These are smooth muscle cells which turn into tumours and line the wall of either the uterus or womb, or both if the situation isn’t remedied. This is another one of those unfortunate ‘women specific’ health complaints that comes with having a different reproductive system. Often, these can be removed without invasive surgery but they do occasionally require a hysterectomy.
10 – Pelvic floor disorders. These do occur in men, but unfortunately, women do experience more weakening of the pelvic floor muscles, especially in older age, but especially after giving birth; even more so when a woman has given birth several times. This can lead to urinary and fecal incontinence as well as pelvic organ prolapse in worse case scenarios.
