WASHINGTON, Oct 25, 1999 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ -- Research unveiled
at a national conference of the Society for Women's Health Research
indicates that gender plays a major role in the underlying causes and
effects of heart disease, musculoskeletal health and
metabolic/digestive diseases.
A blue-ribbon panel of experts identified the three discriminating
areas of disease to women as the next frontier in sex-based biology.
The researchers cited findings from more than a dozen studies on women
and heart attacks, irritable bowel syndrome, and the occurrence of
certain sports injuries to women, as evidence of an abundance of
sex-based differences yet to be fully understood. (See list below)
Researchers gathered at the "Annual Update on Women's Health Research:
Discoveries and Implications," the Society's Ninth Annual Scientific
Advisory Meeting.
"Although women have become more health conscious, we still have such a
long way to go in understanding why the most common and deadly diseases
discriminate as they do," said Phyllis Greenberger, executive director
of the Society for Women's Health Research. "The Society's mission is
to call for more sex-based medical research, which will help men as
well as women," said Greenberger.
"Researchers used to think of women as 'little men,' but in the past 10
years, science has uncovered biological and physiological gender
differences in virtually every organ of the human body," added
Greenberger.
Sex-based biology is the field of scientific inquiry committed to
identifying the biological and physiological differences between men
and women including gender differences found at the system, organ,
tissue, cellular and sub-cellular level, and gender differences in
response to pharmaceuticals.
The Society for Women's Health Research is the only national advocacy
group dedicated to improving the health of women through research. The
Society was founded to bring attention to gender inequities in medical
research, and continues to make research into gender differences a top
strategic priority.
--Heart Disease
* Delayed Onset of Heart Disease: One in nine women in the U.S. aged 45-
64 has clinical evidence of coronary heart disease, whereas after age
65, one in three women has evidence of disease. Disease appears about
10 years later for women than for men, with heart attacks occurring as
much as 20 years later.
* Chest Pain and Women: While angina pectoris is one of the first signs
of heart disease that is common to men and women, chest pain is not.
One study found that 86% of women diagnosed with chest pain never
suffered a heart attack.
* Women and Heart Attacks: The mortality difference between men and
women is real. Women are less likely to have heart attacks, but when
they do, they appear to be at higher risk of dying, especially younger
women.
--Musculoskeletal Health
* Women and Sports Injuries: College-age women involved in basketball or
soccer tear their anterior cruciate ligaments (ACLs) at a significantly
higher rate than college-age men involved in the same sports.
* Osteoarthritis: Is three to four times more common in women than in
men. That ratio increases with age.
* Osteoporosis: More than 80% of those affected by osteoporosis are
women.
--Metabolism/Digestive Disease
* More Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) in Women: A higher percentage of
patients with IBS are women. Evidence is emerging that male and female
differences exist in symptoms. Women report longer pain episodes, more
bloating, nausea and vomiting, whereas men tend to report having
diarrhea.
* Autoimmune Liver Diseases: Women are five times more likely than men
to suffer from autoimmune hepatitis.
* Rejection of Liver of Transplant: Rejection of a liver after
transplantation is more common when a woman recipient is implanted with
a man's liver.
