A person’s sex can make them more or less likely to develop some conditions, as well as determining the severity of those conditions and the body’s response to medication. This means that when it comes to providing health care, the needs of women and men may require different approaches. Here are seven ways our sex affects our health.
Osteoporosis
Osteoporosis, a disease that weakens bones, affects 10 million Americans, 80 percent of them women. This huge disparity is partly due to our physical design, with women having thinner, smaller bones, and less bone tissue than men. For most of a woman’s life, her relatively fragile bones are protected by high levels of estrogen, the primary female sex hormone, that is known to inhibit the natural breakdown of bone cells. However, menopause causes estrogen levels to fall significantly, leaving a woman vulnerable to losing bone mass. As a result, nearly 50 percent of women over 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis.
Depression
For both sexes, depression is a leading cause of disability. However, studies suggest that it is twice as common for women as for men. This could be connected to the way we define depression. For societal reasons, men are less likely to admit to mental health issues, and if we extend the diagnosis of depression to include symptoms such as rage, substance abuse, and risk-taking behavior, then the picture might become more balanced. Research is also being conducted to understand why some conditions , including epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease, seem to trigger depression in one sex but not the other.
Autoimmune Diseases
Women are significantly more susceptible to autoimmune diseases, conditions where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks healthy cells. Although nearly 80 percent of people suffering from them are women, these conditions seem to affect men more severely. For example, multiple sclerosis (MS), which attacks the brain and spinal cord, affects around three times as many women as men, suggesting that hormones may play a significant role. Research is continuing into the possible protective function of the male hormone testosterone.
Heart Disease
Heart disease is the number one killer for both sexes, but women are less likely to survive their first heart attack. One explanation is that their symptoms might differ, with some women not experiencing the severe chest pains traditionally associated with a heart attack and so not seeking the urgent medical attention they need. On average, men have their first heart attack seven years earlier than women. This may be because women have higher levels of estrogen that keep cholesterol levels in check.
Stroke
The sudden stoppage of blood flow to the brain, strokes annually affect around 55,000 more American women than men. Changing levels of estrogen in the female body is an added risk factor, usually connected with reproduction. The birth control pill, pregnancy, menopause, and hormone replacement therapy all cause fluctuations in a woman’s estrogen levels, which can increase the risk of clotting and cause a stroke. For unknown reasons, even genetic factors seem to differ, as women with a family history of strokes are two to three times more likely to suffer from one than men with a similar history. Strokes also seem to hit women harder, being more likely to kill women than men.
Parkinson’s Disease
This degenerative neurological disease affects around 50 percent more men than women, and estrogen may be one of the various reason. Estrogen is known to protect neurological functions by protecting against neurotoxins that boost free radical production and by acting as an antioxidant. Parkinson’s also affects men and women differently, with women more often developing the tremor-dominant form of the disease that tends to progress more slowly and is associated with a better quality of life.
Cancer
One in two men will develop some form of cancer compared with one in three women, and they are also less likely to survive it. This may partially be due to lifestyle factors generally more prevalent among men, such as drinking alcohol, eating fattier foods, and inhaling carcinogens through smoking cigarettes. Women also tend to have more cancer screenings that can spot the disease earlier, improving their chances of survival. However, in a study of 13 cancers affecting men and women, 53 percent of clinically actionable genes showed sex-biased signature, suggesting that sex might be a factor. Overall, whatever the type of cancer, men are six percent more likely to die than women.
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