While you may be convinced that you’ll meet an early demise if you watch one more soccer game or your 15-year-old child breaks curfew again, women face real and increasing health risks in comparison to their male counterparts. Click here to view the best steps to take according to your age!
At a very basic level, physicians recommend preventative screenings and a “wellness” checkup with your doctor, getting active, eating healthy, paying attention to mental health (including getting enough sleep and managing stress … easy to say when you have a 15-year-old, right?), and avoiding unhealthy behaviors including texting while driving and smoking.
What are the top 10 health risks to women? We think you’ll be surprised …
- Breast cancer is not the number one health risk women face. Heart disease is the leading cause of all female deaths.
- Among cancers, lung cancer claims the most women each year, followed by breast cancer.
- Stroke not only accounts for nearly 8 percent of all female death and is the leading cause of long-term disability in the United States.
- More women than men die of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease); an estimated 64,000 women die from the condition annually.
- More women than men succumb to Alzheimer’s disease (about 4 percent of all deaths among women), a progressive, degenerative brain disorder.
- Accidents — car collisions, falls, and poisonings, to name a few — account for about 3 percent of all female deaths in the United States each year, more than 37,000 women.
- Around 3 percent of all female deaths in the United States are attributed to diabetes, a condition that affects almost 26 million Americans.
- The flu and pneumonia are the cause of nearly 3 percent of deaths among women.
- Kidney disease accounts for almost 2 percent of all female deaths in the United States. Contributing factors to kidney disease include diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, and a family history of kidney failure.
- Blood poisoning (septicemia) is a risk to women’s health that is responsible for the deaths of 1.5 percent of all U.S. females. Infections of the lung, urinary tract, abdomen, or pelvis can quickly turn deadly when blood poisoning occurs.
The good news? Hancock Regional Hospital is committed to women’s health. Click here to get your wellness journey started!
Sources and External Links
Retrieved from:
Healthy Living by Age
https://www.womenshealth.gov/healthy-living-age
Retrieved from:
Hancock Women’s Health
https://www.hancockregionalhospital.org/healthcare-services/womens-health/
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