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Gender and Sex Impact on Disease Patterns

Gender and biological sex influence disease patterns. Gender refers to socially constructed roles while sex refers to biological characteristics. Cultural norms can impact health outcomes, such as fewer women accessing health clinics. Some diseases are more common in one sex, for example higher lung cancer rates in men and higher HIV/AIDS rates in women. Hormones also influence disease, like Alzheimer's and autoimmune diseases being more common in women. Research aims to increase awareness of how gender impacts health and promote societal changes to reduce barriers to good health for all.

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Alexis Jones
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86 views11 pages

Gender and Sex Impact on Disease Patterns

Gender and biological sex influence disease patterns. Gender refers to socially constructed roles while sex refers to biological characteristics. Cultural norms can impact health outcomes, such as fewer women accessing health clinics. Some diseases are more common in one sex, for example higher lung cancer rates in men and higher HIV/AIDS rates in women. Hormones also influence disease, like Alzheimer's and autoimmune diseases being more common in women. Research aims to increase awareness of how gender impacts health and promote societal changes to reduce barriers to good health for all.

Uploaded by

Alexis Jones
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Gender and Sex

Influence on
Disease Pattern
Alexis R. Jones
Sex VS. Gender
• According to the World Health Organization,

Gender: “refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors,


activities, and attributes that a given society considers
appropriate for men and women”

and…

Sex: “refers to the biological and physiological


characteristics that define men and women”
Gender & Disease
• Cultural norms
• Many women are unable to go to
health clinics
• Higher lung cancer in men
• Higher number of women with
HIV/AIDs
Sex & Disease
• Women have a greater risk of developing diseases caused by a
defective metabolic and immune system (Alzheimer’s disease,
type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus)
• “Premenopausal women recover from stroke sooner and with
less disability than men of the same age or postmenopausal
women”
• Brain regions are varied in size -emotions, memory
• Hippocampus – larger in women effects short term memory?
• Size alone doesn’t drive function – hormones and genes
Goldstein’s Stress Test
Harvard Medical School
• Subject placed in a scanner with neutral scenes followed by
scenes to stimulate a response
• Women tested at beginning of menstrual cycle and ovulation
• Felt no mood change, but showed greater stress activity at beginning of
menstrual cycle (adaptation?)
• Men showed similar stress activity to women at the beginning
of menstrual cycle
• Higher rates of depression and anxiety in women
• Men with depression/anxiety less sensitive to trauma
Top Diseases
Male vs. Female

Men Women
Heart Heart
Cancer Cancer
Respiratory Stroke
Stroke Repiratory
Type II Diabetes Alzheimer’s
Type II Diabetes
The Leading Killer
Cardiovascular Disease
• Causes 29% of total deaths
worldwide
• Higher prevalence in
women, yet higher under
diagnosis
• Heart Attacks and
Thrombolytics
• Exercise/Pharmacologic
Stress Tests
• Surgery-Balloon Angioplasty
• Need for early intervention

[Link]
[Link]/projects/exanta/images/[Link]
Schizophrenia
• Schizophrenic women
have higher levels of
testosterone than men
• Onset is delayed in women
• Female hormones protect
nerves
• less maintenance on
antipsychotic drugs
• Greater rate of head trauma
in men
• Slower maturation of men
Alzheimer’s Disease
• Men: physical, verbal, and sexual aggression, tendency to
wander, socially inappropriate behavior

• Women: emotionally unstable, hoarding, refuse help,


depression, delusions

• Hormones (estrogen) may play a large role, but mostly gender


related differences due to longer life span of women
Research Goals
• As society and cultural
norms evolve
• increase health professionals'
awareness of the role of
gender norms, values, and
inequality in perpetuating
disease, disability, and death
• promote societal change with
a view to eliminating gender
as a barrier to good health.
• Sex specific treatments and
prevention [Link]

• Prenatal Brain
Works Cited
• [Link]
• [Link]
• http://
[Link]/content/heartdisease/gender_differences.asp
• [Link]
• [Link]
• http://
[Link]/alzheimers/[Link]
• [Link]
• http://
[Link]/health/mens-health/MC00013/NSECTIONGRO
UP=2
• [Link]

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