False beliefs that kill us
False beliefs that kill us
The leading cause of death in women is not breast cancer, it is the heart. But instead, as confirmed by a study developed by the University of Siena (Italy), men and women are treated differently only because of the (false) perception that what happens to them is more serious. For example, with equal severity, more catheterizations are performed on men, thus avoiding more deaths of men than women.
Heart attacks that go undetected
Heart attacks that go undetected
According to the Women's Health Observatory, 56% of men are correctly diagnosed with a cardiovascular problem compared to 15% of women. The reason? Our symptoms are different. And in the medical literature, male symptoms have always predominated. The problem is that in a heart attack, every minute is life, so recognizing its symptoms and treating it in time is essential.
Respiratory problems
Respiratory problems
According to the EPISCAN study carried out in 11 Spanish centers, 73% of patients with COPD were underdiagnosed, this underdiagnosis being more frequent in women. Why are women not diagnosed equally? According to Dr. Joan B. Soriano, scientific consultant of the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (Separ), the Faculty of Medicine taught " think about COPD in front of a man, a smoker and over 65 years old " He also smokes and right now COPD affects both sexes equally.
Tired? It is not depression, it can be apnea
Tired? It is not depression, it can be apnea
The Burgos Sleep Unit cares for one woman for every 8 men, despite the fact that, in the case of sleep apnea, for example, the incidence is similar in both sexes. The head of the Burgos Sleep Unit, Dr. Joaquín Terán, affirms that this is caused by a stereotype in which someone with apnea is an obese man, with breathing difficulties and who snores a lot. And also, when a woman reports problems of daytime sleepiness, doctors tend to link it more to a tendency to depression or drug use than to a possible illness linked to sleep.
Knee operations
Knee operations
The University of Toronto (Canada) has found that men are recommended more often to undergo knee replacement and less for women. In the study they reviewed all the medical records and the only difference was only because of gender. Do male knees deserve more care? If your knee hurts, don't let it go.
Anemia or depression?
Anemia or depression?
According to endocrinologist Carme Valls Llobet, in medical manuals it is considered normal for women of reproductive age to suffer from anemia due to lack of iron. But when a woman comes to the consultation complaining of fatigue, discomfort and concentration problems - clear symptoms of anemia - instead of having a blood test to evaluate her iron stores, anxiolytics are usually prescribed, attributed to psychological causes. It has also been seen that many cases diagnosed as depression were actually due to hypothyroidism.
Colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer
The Institut Català d'Oncologia found gender inequalities in hospital readmission among colorectal cancer patients, with fewer women being readmitted than men without being due to their medical history. After studying each medical history, the only difference between some patients and others was gender. Women were readmitted less.
Overmedicated
Overmedicated
Until very recently, women were not part of clinical trials of new drugs because it was assumed that results in men were automatically extrapolated to women, when, on average, women weigh less, our body has more fat and we are more subject to hormonal changes. No, we are not the same. Clinical trials should be done for each sex.
We need lower doses
We need lower doses
Another important detail is that we metabolize drugs differently. As Valls Llobet points out, "several studies have shown that the activity of a liver enzyme that helps metabolism and the transformation of numerous drugs is up to 40% higher in women than in men" , so our doses should be lower.
At work it also happens
At work it also happens
As Professor Karen Messing explains: “In a pastry company, for example, men carry sacks of material on their shoulders or with machines, while women are on assembly lines, carrying trays of around 400 g every 5 seconds of the tape to a support ". They both carry weight, right? " At the end of the day they have calculated that each woman has moved a ton of weight with her hands and, however, if a cervical disc herniation occurs, compensation or compensation is not contemplated because it is believed that 'so little weight' cannot cause any problem ”. On the other hand, this is considered in the case of men.
As sad as it is true. The health system does not treat women and men equally. We are medicated more, we undergo fewer tests - which could save our lives - and even our symptoms are unknown or confused. And we are not just saying it, the doctors themselves are already realizing it. Fortunately, things are changing, although not as fast as they should. There are many diagnostic errors and medical errors that in the end we pay for ourselves, with our health and even with our lives.
Preconceived ideas that put us in danger
If you ask what is the leading cause of death according to sex, the usual thing is to talk about breast cancer in women and heart attack in men. But it's not like that. Data from the 2016 Deaths by Cause of Death report from the National Institute of Statistics show that diseases of the circulatory system (heart failure, heart attack, etc.) are the leading cause of female mortality (272.7 deaths per 100,000), second among men (242.5 per 100,000).
- The risk. As explained by Dr. María Teresa Ruiz Cantero, professor in the Area of Medicine and Public Health at the University of Alicante, in the monograph Gender biases in Primary Care , faced with an acute coronary syndrome, for example, with equal severity, more catheterizations - an intervention that saves many lives - to men than to women, thus avoiding more deaths of men than women.
- Why? As Dr. Ruiz Cantero points out, the difference is gender. This is explained by a study carried out by the University of Siena (Italy) and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine on patients with acute myocardial infarction, angina, chronic ischemia and chest pain. According to this study, men and women are treated differently without this having to do with their age or the severity of their symptoms. Only because of the (false) perception that what happens to them is more serious.
The referent is male
In the last season of Grey's Anatomy, Dr. Bailey suffers a heart attack, but the doctor who treats her does not want to do a stress test to diagnose it because she does not present the typical symptom of chest pain, more typical of a man than of women, whose symptoms are more diffuse and can be mistaken for an anxiety attack.
- We are not the same. Bailey reproaches him that "if I were you, I would take into account the statistics of what happens to people who are not the same as you." Because medicine, as Ruiz Cantero says, "defines and measures the health problems of women based on the acceptance that the norm of health and illness is what happens to white men."
- We are "atypical". The female heart attack is classified as atypical, but "the atypical heart attack is the typical one in women." If it is not considered normal, it is because it is not man's.
Unscientific beliefs
Endocrinologist Valls Llobet affirms: "Until the 90s, it was thought that women were naturally protected against cardiovascular diseases (due to their hormones) and that it was not necessary to carry out studies in this regard that took into account gender differences". And that's when cardiovascular disease is our leading cause of death.
The "emotional factor"
Valls Llobet points out a tendency to attribute women's health problems to emotional causes.
- Anemia or depression? According to the endocrinologist, in medical manuals it is normal for women of reproductive age to suffer from anemia due to lack of iron. But when she comes to the office complaining of tiredness, malaise and concentration problems - clear symptoms of anemia - instead of having a blood test to evaluate her iron stores, she is usually prescribed anxiolytics, attributed to psychological causes.
- What if it was the thyroid? It has also been seen that many cases diagnosed as depression were actually due to hypothyroidism
We are over medicated
Until very recently, women were not part of clinical trials of new drugs because it was assumed that results in men were automatically extrapolated to women, when, on average, women weigh less, our body has more fat and we are more subject to hormonal changes.
- Our hormonal changes. Ruiz Cantero points out that if women are not included in the clinical trials of drugs, "possible problems of interaction between the evaluated drug and the periodic hormonal variability of women are not detected , very different from that of men, which can result in more side effects ”.
- We metabolize differently. As Valls Llobet points out, "several studies have shown that the activity of a liver enzyme that helps metabolism and the transformation of numerous drugs is up to 40% higher in women than in men" , so our doses should be lower.
