Earning less, suffering more: 4 diseases that harm women more - voila! health

2023-03-08T06:19:02.096Z

We don't know when Women's Day became a commercial day, but we are here to return to what is important. Here are 4 diseases that women suffer from much more, and the ways to deal with it

Iris Cole interviews Prof. Tamar Safra about female crustaceans (Walla system)

The career, the home, the children, life itself: the endless load of tasks makes many women forget the most important thing - their health.

Therefore, we decided to celebrate Women's Day this year as a sign of awareness of diseases that tend to attack mainly women.

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There are quite a few common medical conditions that affect women differently, and usually more.

In fact, female hormones may make women more vulnerable to various diseases, especially those originating from the body's immune system.

So we talked to some leading doctors and asked to hear what the unique symptoms are that should turn on a warning light, for every woman.

Here are their answers.

Cushing syndromes

Endogenous Cushing's syndrome is a rare disease that does not only affect women, but the number of women diagnosed with it is three times greater than men.

The patients are at increased risk of morbidity and even premature death, if the disease is not diagnosed and treated in a timely and appropriate manner.

Among the symptoms that stand out to the eye can be found significant weight gain, pink or purple stretch marks, and excessive growth, which includes the appearance of growth in visible areas such as the face and neck and a decrease in bone density.

Most patients will often report fatigue, muscle weakness, depression, anxiety, and headaches.

In many cases, these symptoms will be wrongly associated with hormonal changes, menopause or childbirth.

"Diagnosing the disease in time is critical, because the patient's condition may deteriorate if the disease is not treated early, and may manifest itself in the appearance of severe infections and a tendency to clots in the blood vessels, to the point of risking life," explained Prof. Ilan Shimon, expert endocrinologist and director of the Institute of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, at the center Medical Rabin.

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Lupus

Lupus, also known as "lupus", is a rare chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system produces autoantibodies that can attack all body systems as if they were foreign.

Dr. Osherat Shipman, senior rheumatologist and director of the lupus clinic at the Meir Medical Center, explains that the disease can be mild in some people, but severe and even life-threatening in others, and is characterized by a course of flare-ups in between which there may be a remission.

She also suffers from lupus.

Selena Gomez (Photo: GettyImages)

The incidence of the disease in the population is about 1 in 2,000, but it is 9 times more common in women, especially in the reproductive age.

The range of symptoms is wide, and the disease can be very different from patient to patient.

Common symptoms include fatigue, fever, joint pain, and rash.

In more serious cases, the internal organs are also involved, including the membranes of the lungs and heart, kidneys, brain, and more.

One of the challenges in dealing with lupus is during pregnancy, as the disease may flare up during pregnancy as well as after it.

In addition, the disease may have an effect on the normality of the pregnancy, both in terms of the mother and the fetus.

Most women with lupus achieve a successful pregnancy, which largely depends on planning the date of pregnancy and adjusting the treatment in collaboration with the treating rheumatologist.

There is drug treatment for lupus, which is customized according to the severity of the disease, the involved organ and the patient's preferences.

In recent years, a number of biological treatments have been introduced to treat lupus, allowing even more precise treatment adjustment.

Endometrial cancer

Endometrial cancer is a tumor that originates from malignant cells that develop from endometrial cells.

This cancer is the most common gynecological cancer in the USA, and the second most common gynecological cancer in the world. Most of the women diagnosed with this cancer are women over 50 who are in menopause or after the cessation of menstruation, when the average age for detecting endometrial cancer is 60. Prof. Tamar

Safra The director of the Women's Cancer Center at the Ichilov Hospital explains that in most cases, endometrial cancer will be diagnosed in the early stages due to visible symptoms (vaginal bleeding), but in 15 to 20 percent of women, the disease will be diagnosed in advanced stages. The treatment of the disease depends on the stage of diagnosis, the progress of the disease and other risk factors. The initial treatment of the disease is surgery, in which the stage of the disease is determined and according to which a decision is made on the appropriate treatment which may include chemotherapy, radiation, immunotherapy and biology.

The average age for detecting uterine cancer is 60. Illustration of a uterus (Photo: ShutterStock)

It is very important to detect uterine cancer early, when the recovery rates are very high.

"We urge women to be routinely examined by a gynecologist to detect early disease. Even in advanced stages, there is a possibility of a cure or a significant life extension, so it is very important to diagnose and treat," said Prof. Safra.

It is important to note that in recent years, immunotherapeutic and biological drugs have been approved for the treatment of disseminated or recurrent cancer that have been proven to be effective.

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a condition of calcium escape and bone depletion leading to weakening of the bone structure.

The disease is not noticeable and develops painlessly.

Due to the weakening of the bone structure, the risk of fracture increases.

The disease is mainly common in women after menopause, but can also develop in men and younger women.

Even though 70 percent of osteoporotic fractures are in women, and despite the increasing awareness of the disease, only one in four women will undergo investigation and treatment as required and the disease suffers from underdiagnosis.

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From all Dr. Shlomit Koren, director of the endocrinology institute at Shamir Hospital (Assaf Harofeh) explains that one out of every three women, over the age of 50, will suffer from an osteoporotic crisis.

An osteoporotic fracture is a fracture that occurred as a result of a low-grade trauma, as opposed to a fall from a ladder, for example, which is a high-grade trauma.

An osteoporotic fracture can have difficult consequences, including hospitalization, orthopedic surgery and sometimes prolonged rehabilitation that lead to loss of working days and financial cost.

Suffering and pain may also be caused, and even a decrease or limitation in movement and function.

In addition, studies around the world point to an alarming figure: in patients after a femoral neck fracture, a common osteoporotic fracture, there is a 20 percent mortality rate in the first year after the fracture.

Today's guidelines are that every woman over the age of 60 should go for a bone density test, which is included in the health basket, or younger women if they are in the risk group - body mass (BMI) below 20, a previous fracture, a family background of osteoporosis, smoking, increased consumption of alcohol, or chronic use of drugs such as steroids, which may damage bone density.