Women experience more years in poor health than men, key study finds

A global gender health gap analysis has found that women experience more years in poor health than men. Researchers found that illness and disability-causing conditions such as musculoskeletal problems, mental health issues and headache disorders, particularly affect women. 

The findings of the study were published in the Lancet Public Health journal. 

The study examined the impact of the world's 20 leading causes of diseases. It found that globally there has been limited progress in bridging health gaps over the past three decades.

The study found that men are disproportionately affected by conditions that cause premature death such as cardiovascular diseases, respiratory and liver diseases, Covid and road injuries.

Yes. That's true. Women live about seven years longer than men on average. But most of them live with higher levels of illness and disability throughout their lives. The health differences, the study found, between women and men continue to grow with age. 

The study’s senior author, Dr Luisa Sorio Flor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington, said in a statement: "This report clearly shows that over the past 30 years global progress on health has been uneven."

"Females have longer lives but live more years in poor health, with limited progress made in reducing the burden of conditions leading to illness and disability, underscoring the urgent need for greater attention to non-fatal consequences that limit women’s physical and mental function, especially at older ages. Similarly, males are experiencing a much higher and growing burden of disease with fatal consequences."

The study is also a call for countries to expand their health data classified on the basis of sex and gender data, said Sorio Flor. "The timing is right for this study and call to action – not only because of where the evidence is now, but because COVID-19 has starkly reminded us that sex differences can profoundly impact health outcomes."

“One key point the study highlights is how females and males differ in many biological and social factors that fluctuate and, sometimes, accumulate over time, resulting in them experiencing health and disease differently at each stage of life and across world regions.

"The challenge now is to design, implement and evaluate sex- and gender-informed ways of preventing and treating the major causes of morbidity and premature mortality from an early age and across diverse populations."

Among the conditions studied, the findings suggested that women are put at a disadvantage by conditions such as back pain, depressive disorders, headache disorders, anxiety disorders, bone and muscle disorders, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, and HIV and Aids.

The study found that these conditions contribute to illness and disability throughout life as opposed to leading to premature death.