5 eye-opening stats about women’s health
This week, we’re supporting National Women’s Health Week by encouraging women to make their health a priority. Being born with two X chromosomes has some serious health benefits, like—you know—having the ability to grow a human life.
However, there are a few disadvantages that women need to be aware of when it comes to their personal health, so we’re shedding light on five shocking stats to create more awareness. The stats may seem discouraging, but we believe information can be empowering. It’s important to keep in mind that you can take control of your health with preventive and routine care.
- Heart disease is the number one killer of women. What’s more shocking is that, according to a study published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, women are up to three times more likely to die following a serious heart attack than men as a result of receiving unequal care and treatment.
Take the at-home Heart Health Test >>
- Autoimmune diseases are more prevalent in women—affecting up to 10% of the world's population, with approximately 80% of those affected being female. Hashimoto's disease, also known as Hashimoto's thyroiditis, is an autoimmune disease that damages the thyroid gland. Women are five to eight times more likely than men to have thyroid problems—and one in eight will develop a thyroid disorder during her lifetime, according to the American Thyroid Association (ATA).
Test your thyroid hormones at home >>
- The American Psychological Association (APA) has found that women are more likely than men (28% vs. 20%) to report having a great deal of stress. Women are also more likely to report feeling symptoms of stress, including everything from an upset stomach to headaches. What’s more concerning is that women’s stress can make their mental health conditions, such as depression or anxiety, feel worse.
Test your stress hormones at home >>
- According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 12% of women in the United States ages 15–44 have difficulty becoming pregnant or staying pregnant, making infertility more common than we think. The organization reports that several things increase a woman’s risk of infertility, including age, smoking, excessive alcohol use, and emotional stress—but what was staggering to uncover was that undiagnosed STDs had caused infertility in more than 20,000 women a year.
- HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI). It’s so common that almost every person who is sexually active will get HPV at some time in their life if they don’t get the HPV vaccine, the CDC reports. And when it comes to women, 80% will get at least one type of HPV at some point in their lifetime. Women often do not know if they have HPV because it may not show any symptoms or go away without treatment. HPV can cause serious illnesses like cervical cancer, but there is a vaccine available to help prevent the infection.
It’s not always easy to change your routine or adapt to a new lifestyle, but prioritizing your health has never been more important. If you’re looking for some guidance, we provide a range of at-home lab tests to give you a baseline and actionable next steps for many areas of women’s health, including Heart Health, Sleep & Stress, Thyroid, Fertility, and HPV for screenings.
References
1. Women and Heart Disease. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. URL. Accessed May 11, 2020.
2. Alabas OA, Gale CP, Hall M, et al. Sex Differences in Treatments, Relative Survival, and Excess Mortality Following Acute Myocardial Infarction: National Cohort Study Using the SWEDEHEART Registry. J Am Heart Assoc. 2017;6(12):e007123. doi:10.1161/JAHA.117.007123
3. New study: Women more likely to die after a heart attack due to unequal treatment. World Heart Federation. URL. Accessed May 11, 2020.
4. 6 things every woman should know about heart health. American Heart Association. URL. Accessed May 11, 2020.
5. Chiaroni-Clarke RC, Munro JE, Ellis JA. Sex bias in paediatric autoimmune disease - Not just about sex hormones?. J Autoimmun. 2016;69:12‐23. doi:10.1016/j.jaut.2016.02.011
6. Infertility FAQs. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. URL. Accessed May 11, 2020.
7. Stress and your health. Womenshealth.gov. URL. Accessed May 11, 2020.
8. Reported STDs in the United States, 2018. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. URL. Accessed May 11, 2020.
9. Human papillomavirus. Womenshealth.gov. URL. Accessed May 11, 2020.