The Limited Times

Now you can see non-English news...

The blind spots of women's health

2020-03-05T04:10:38.483Z


Men and women are the same. At least on paper. In practice, however, there is still a lot of inequality - not least in medicine. Even with a heart attack.


Men and women are the same. At least on paper. In practice, however, there is still a lot of inequality - not least in medicine. Even with a heart attack.

Hamburg (dpa / tmn) - A group of sick people are patients - that's the grammar it wants. Of course, patients are meant here, it is said. But all too often health practice shows that women are meant, but not considered.

The imbalance can be seen in several fields: Many diseases are recognized later in women than in men, and many drugs are more likely to be examined for their effects on men.

However, the problem often begins earlier, explains Ingrid Mühlhauser, professor of health sciences at the University of Hamburg and chair of the women's health working group. "We have a men's club in the health care power structures," she says. "And that determines what is researched."

The result: Many diseases and issues that mainly affect women have hardly been researched, or have been insufficiently researched, for example endometriosis, i.e. cysts and inflammation on the ovaries, for example - a disease with many sufferers who often suffer massive pain, but only so little researched.

Not only women-specific diseases are affected by the imbalance, but also the so-called common diseases such as diabetes, but also the heart attack.

Take a heart attack, for example

The sudden pain in the chest, the breakdown: Many people still consider the heart attack as a purely male illness. This is no longer true, says Christiane Tiefenbacher, chief physician for cardiology at the Marienhospital in Wesel and member of the scientific advisory board of the German Heart Foundation.

However, the heart attack in women is somewhat different than in men. The symptoms are often atypical, as doctors say: "Abdominal and back pain, for example, instead of the classic tightness in the chest," explains Tiefenbacher. As a result, even professionals often recognize a heart attack in women late or even too late.

There are still other shortcomings, the expert explains: "Even if the suspicion arises early, women are rarely subjected to extensive examinations, instead they are observed for longer." The drugs prescribed are often different - and not necessarily more suitable

Example diabetes: misdiagnosis thanks to fasting blood sugar

Like the heart attack, type 2 diabetes is often considered a male disease, even among doctors. Accordingly, it is often discovered early in men. "In many women, on the other hand, we only find the complications after the first heart attack," says Julia Szendrödi, deputy director of the Clinic for Diabetology at the University Hospital Düsseldorf.

The misdiagnosis often has a very simple reason. "When the family doctor tests for type 2 diabetes, he often takes fasting blood sugar," explains the expert. "In women with type 2 diabetes, however, the early stage of the disease is often still within the normal range." The diagnosis is then: no diabetes - and therefore no urgently needed treatment. "Men have type 2 diabetes a little more often - but women lose more healthy years of life and have a higher mortality rate."

Here too there are psychological causes - for example when it comes to treatment. "There is often a prejudice among doctors that women take care of it anyway," says Szendrödi. "In fact, however, many women still take care of the family first and only then after themselves." The women and their environment can do something about it. From Szendrödi's perspective, doctors are particularly in demand.

Problem recognized - danger averted?

After all, Szendrödi and cardiologist Tiefenbacher say: There is improvement in sight. The problem is now present and also plays a role in the training of doctors. However, patients should still have it on the screen, says Tiefenbacher: "We advise affected women to actually address the topic in a targeted manner and to request an intensive examination."

Source: merkur

All life articles on 2020-03-05

You may like

Life/Entertain 2024-01-30T15:01:31.320Z
News/Politics 2024-03-01T10:35:26.216Z
Life/Entertain 2024-03-13T05:24:59.810Z

Trends 24h

Life/Entertain 2024-03-28T17:17:20.523Z

Latest

© Communities 2019 - Privacy

The information on this site is from external sources that are not under our control.
The inclusion of any links does not necessarily imply a recommendation or endorse the views expressed within them.