Gender Differences in Health Flashcards
Preventable diseases
Affected by lifestyle (behavior).
Life Span
Also known as life expectancy, a statistical measure of the average time something expected to live, based on the year of its birth, its current age and other demographic factors including gender.
Morbidity
Illness or sickness (suffering from a disease or medical condition).
Mortality
Death
Actute Illness
Illnesses that develop suddently and last a short amount of time (compared to a chronic illness)
Chronic Illness
A condition that develops slowly and lasts a longer time (compared to an acute illness)
Osteoporosis
Causes bones to be brittle and weak
CLRD
Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease
Autoimmune diseases
Body’s immune system attacks self (healthy cells instead of foreign cells/viruses)
Examples include: Lupus, MS, Graves’ Disease
They are generally more common in women than in men, but the extent of the sex difference varies between diseases
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Autoimmune disease that targets tissues/joints
Subjective Rating of Health
Scientists ask participants to rate their own health on a scale. Women usually rate health to be poorer than men do.
Illness behaviors
Often used to assess illness, includes missing work, staying in bed, using prescription drugs, etc.
Sex Differences in Chromosomes
Women are XX; Men are XY
A theory to explain the sex discrepancy is the sex chromosomes; having multiple copies of those genes that remain active can lead to an over-active immune response and the development of the disease
Hormones
Chemical messengers/signaling molecules (ex. estrogen and progesterone)
Immune System
Affects one’s resistance to infection and vulnerability to auto-immune disorders
Artifacts
Methodological variables, how studies are run and how variables are measured may affect results, can lead us to think there are differences even if those differences don’t exist.
Ex). healthcare providers respond to men and women differently. Women are more likely to be prescribed psychoactive drugs like antidepresants, etc (might be a bias)
Physician Implicit Bias
Responding to patients differently
Psychogenic
Has a psychological cause.
Low birth weight
Newbor babies who weigh less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces
Cirrhosis
Chronic liver damage
Abdominal adiposity (obesity)
Fat located in the abdomen. More dangerous kind of obesity
Obesity
About 2/3 of the population is overweight.
BMI
Measure of your weight/height, not a perfect indicator of overweight or obesity.
Preventive Health Care
Seeing a physician before having an illness.
Examples: pap smears, mammograms, yearly check-ups, etc
Dose-Response relationship
Greater use of/exposure to a substance is associated with greater effect.
Smoking
Associated with many leading causes of death in both men and women (heart disease, stroke, cancer, etc)
Exercise
Benefits: stress reduction, reduces risk of cancers/diabetes/other dieases
