A closer look at health statistics shows a pervasive difference in disease and illness between the sexes, revealing that a much higher proportion of women suffer from certain conditions that may not directly cause death.   The fact that women live on average 7 years longer than men tends to increase women’s health care needs, as they are prone to suffer more from chronic conditions as they age.

• There are more than 80 known autoimmune diseases, including Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, juvenile onset diabetes, scleroderma and Grave’s disease. Autoimmune diseases can attack the heart, kidneys, liver, lungs, blood, and/or brain, therefore they can become life-threatening.
  
  
• Hip fractures in people with osteoporosis increase risk of death by 24%.   Nearly 50% of those who do survive an osteoporotic hip fracture lose their independence.
  
  
• Almost all people who commit suicide have a diagnosable mental disorder, most commonly depression or a substance abuse disorder.   Major depression also increases the risk of having a heart attack.
  
  
• Virtually everyone over the age of 75 is affected in at least one joint by osteoarthritis.
  
  
• Migraine sufferers can experience one or more attacks per month, incapacitating them for hours to days.

Other Leading Causes of Illness in Women

• Alcohol Abuse
• Asthma
• Carpal Tunnel Syndrome
• Hypertension
• Incontinence
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• PMS/PMDD
• Urinary Tract Infections

Sources:
American Autoimmune-Related Disease Association

B.L. Riggs and L.J. Melton III Bone 1995 17 (suppl):505S-511S

National Institute of Mental Health.   The Numbers Count: Mental Illness in America

American College of Rheumatology Osteoarthritis Fact Sheet

W.F. Stewart, et al. JAMA 1992 267(1):64-69

Last updated: August 6, 2004