Women may live longer than men, on average, but a new study suggests their quality of life in later years is often hampered by health problems. The study in Lancet Public Health found that while men are more affected by conditions that cause earlier death, women live with higher levels of illness or disability, reports the Guardian.
- The study: The researchers dug into data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 to compare disability-adjusted life-year rates. They found that women, who have a longer life expectancy, are more likely to live with nonfatal health conditions that cause illness and disability, like lower back pain and depressive and headache disorders.
- 6 years: Prevention reports that the life expectancy gap between men and women has widened in the US to almost six years. Some of the factors that contribute to this are higher rates of cardiovascular disease and lung cancer among men (linked to smoking).
- Disparities in health: "This report clearly shows that over the past 30 years, global progress on health has been uneven," author Dr. Luisa Sorio Flor of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation tells the Guardian. "Females have longer lives but live more years in poor health, with limited progress made in reducing the burden of conditions leading to illness and disability, underscoring the urgent need for greater attention to nonfatal consequences that limit women's physical and mental function, especially at older ages."
- More funding: Co-lead author Gabriela Gil says the conditions women suffer with age are "significantly underfunded compared with the massive burden they exert." She called for more robust planning in health care to address the issues women face as they age.
(More than one
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