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The Healthier Sex What’s the big deal between women’s and men’s health? A lot  Image courtesy Katinka Kober While we may all be created equal, we’re not created equally, and that has huge implications for our health and well-being. Thankfully, researchers have begun to factor women’s health differences into the development of new products, drugs and therapies. Here are some factors that make a big difference in our lives. Sherry Marts, Ph.D., scientific director at the Society of Women’s Health Research in Washington, D.C., explains. 1. After consuming the same amount of alcohol, women have a higher blood-alcohol content than men, even when you allow for size differences. Alcohol is absorbed through the stomach, and women’s stomachs empty slower than men’s. And women produce less of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol - alcohol deydrogenase - causing them to reach a higher blood-alcohol level. 2. Women who smoke are 20 percent to 70 percent more likely to develop lung cancer than men who smoke the same number of cigarettes. Scientists don’t know why yet, but evidence suggests that women are expressing a gene that predisposes them to lung cancer. It’s more important for women and girls to never start smoking. Although it helps to quit, you may never recover from the initial lung damage that occurs from that first pack of cigarettes. 3. Women tend to wake up from anesthesia more quickly than men. This is just one example of how men and women respond differently to medical treatments. By paying attention to them, we can improve the health of men and women. 4. Pain medications, known as kappa-opiates, are far more effective in relieving pain in women than in men. Drug companies and researchers are finding more and more differences in how women and men respond to pain and pain relief. For example, evidence suggests that ibuprofen doesn’t relieve pain for women as well as it does for men. 5. Women are more likely than men to suffer a second heart attack within one year of their first. This is partly because women tend to have heart attacks at older ages (60s and 70s, compared with the 50s and 60s for men). A woman’s heart-attack symptoms may go unrecognized longer than men’s. That’s why - while you’re still young - you should explore your family’s history of heart disease, assess your risk, talk to your doctor, and take control by living a healthy lifestyle whether you’re 25, 35 or 45. 6. The same drug can cause different reactions and different side effects in women and men – even common drugs such as antihistamines and antibiotics. Ultimately, this knowledge will help drug companies offer better medications and formulations specifically for women or men, thanks to a new dedication to understanding gender differences. 7. Women have stronger immune systems to protect them from disease, but they are more likely to get autoimmune diseases (where the body attacks its own tissues) such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, scleroderma and multiple sclerosis. These diseases are difficult to diagnose because the symptoms are vague and come and go. Family history is one key to diagnosing automimmune diseases, and you should keep in mind that a family member may have suffered from a different type of autoimmune condition, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus. 8. During unprotected intercourse with an infected partner, women are two times more likely than men to contract a sexually transmitted disease and 10 times more likely to contract HIV. Practice safe sex. Need we say more? If he won’t use a condom, take matters into your own hands, or don’t do it. Moreover, understand your vaginal environment, and don’t ignore those merely “bothersome” infections that could predispose you to more harmful infections later. 9. Depression is two to three times more common in women than in men, in part because women’s brains produce less of the hormone serotonin. Women tend to be more open about their feelings, so it could be that women are diagnosed more often because they’re more willing to recognize symptoms of depression. This is a good thing. Know the symptoms (including changes in eating patterns, weight gain, weight loss, insomnia, too much sleep). And know that depression is a biological disorder. We don’t criticize diabetics for being unable to produce insulin, and depression is a disease with a biochemical basis. 10. After menopause women lose more bone mass than men, which is why 80 percent of people with osteoporosis are women. Childhood. Osteoporosis is a disease that starts in childhood when children don’t consume enough calcium or vitamins, which encourage calcium absorption. Make sure your kids drink enough milk and eat balanced meals. If your kids are lactose intolerant, alternatives include lactase-free milk or calcium-fortified orange juice. Get your kids (and yourself) involved in weight-bearing exercises now so they’ll have healthy, strong bodies later. |
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