However, due to higher premature mortality, “health loss” remains estimated to be higher among men. Another major conclusion is that these differences in health appear from adolescencewhich highlights the importance of early prevention interventions.
On a global scale, there are therefore substantial differences in health between women and men and, moreover, the study reports very limited progress in reducing these gaps over the last 30 years.
Synthetic,
- women are particularly affected by non-fatal conditions that lead to health loss including musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), mental health problems and headaches;
- men are disproportionately affected by conditions that lead to more premature deaths – such as COVID-19 in particular -, road accidents, cardiovascular diseases and respiratory and liver diseases;
- These health differences between women and men increase with age, leaving women with higher levels of illness and disability throughout life.
The study, modeling, analyzes data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 to compare total years of life lost to disease and premature deaths (DALYs) for the 20 leading causes of disease in women and men globally and in seven regions of the world. The analysis did not include gender-specific health problems, such as gynecological problems or prostate cancer. The analysis concludes in particular that:
- for 13 of the 20 leading causes of disease burden, including COVID, road accidents and cardiovascular, respiratory and hepatic diseases, health loss or disease burden is higher among men than women in 2021;
- COVID remains the leading cause of health loss in 2021, with men suffering 45% higher health loss due to COVID than women (estimated at 3,978 vs 2,211 DALY/100,000). This gender difference in disease burden is most pronounced in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean;
- Ischemic heart disease constitutes the 2nd largest absolute difference in health loss between women and men, with men having a 45% higher burden of heart disease than women. The biggest difference is found in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia;
- for conditions that weigh more on men, such as ischemic heart disease, lung cancer and chronic kidney disease, the differences between the sexes tend to be small at young ages and widen over the course of life;
- one exception is the disproportionate number of road accidents among young men;
- the largest contributors to women’s health loss globally are low back pain, depressive disorders, headaches, anxiety disorders, MSDs, Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias, and HIV/AIDS;
-
the largest absolute difference in health loss among women is observed for low back pain;
- For conditions where the gap is most disadvantageous to women, such as mental health problems and MSDs, the gaps between women and men begin early in life and intensify with age. “It is clear that women’s health care must go well beyond reproductive health issues (…) Conditions that disproportionately affect women in all regions of the world, such as depressive disorders, are significantly neglected and benefit from only a very small proportion of public health spending globally”;
- finally, a disproportionate increase in the burden of depressive disorders, anxiety and certain MSDs is observed to the detriment of women.
Men too! The authors emphasize that progress in targeted health strategies for men remain slow. Globally, new initiatives for men have started to be rolled out, including the 2018 Strategy for Men’s Health and Well-being in the WHO European Region, which has been ratified by more than 50 member countries.
In conclusion, the analysis clearly shows that over the past 30 years, global progress in health has been uneven. Women are living longer but experiencing more years in poor health, with limited progress in reducing the burden of disease and disability. Similarly, men experience a much heavier and increasing burden of disease, with deadly consequences.
Ultimately, eliminating the sources and drivers of these differences by reporting sex-specific data and promoting sex- and gender-sensitive research is essential for policy decisions on health. equitable health.
