Women prioritize the health of their environment over their own. Seven out of ten women say so, but also three out of four have ever changed a medical consultation to take care of their family, a figure that rises to 40% in the case of women between 36 and 55 years.
They are figures that are extracted from the Special Cofares Trends Report “The gender perspective in health saves lives”, on the occasion of the commemoration of the International Women’s DayMarch 8, for which a survey of more than 1,000 women has been carried out.
The results also show that seven out of ten consider it necessary to incorporate the gender perspective in research and healthcare at a high level.
Gender perspective in pathologies
And from the Cofares Trend Observatory they have analyzed the scientific literature to find out how the gender perspective influences the different diseases.
From 2018 to 2023, more than 5,000 scientific documents have been published in different areas that mainly show the differences in diagnostic symptoms and treatment in cardiovascular and neurological diseases, autoimmune diseases, chronic pain, infectious diseases and cancer, among others, depending on gender. /sex.
Graphic from the report “The gender perspective in health saves lives”Among the factors that affect these differences are genetic, hormonal, and environmental factors such as diet, physical activity, education, socioeconomic status, or socialization.
According to the survey, 42.7% claim to be unaware of the symptoms of their gender, such as those of a heart attack, which change in men or women.
Thus, the general signs in this case are pressure or pain in the center of the chest and in one or both arms. But in women, specifically, they may experience others such as difficulty breathing, nausea or vomiting, as well as back or jaw pain.
For all these reasons, the Observatory considers it “essential” to incorporate this sex/gender approach into clinical practice “to guarantee equitable, adequate, effective and quality care for all patients”.
How does the woman perceive her state of health?
The Observatory has also asked the interviewees how they perceive their own health, both physical and mental, and if the pandemic has influenced this.
In general, the Spanish women surveyed consider that they are in good health, in addition, 60% of those surveyed say they exercise regularly.
However, it is the young woman who considers in 53.8% that their mothers and grandmothers had better health than they did when they were the same age.
60% affirm that they pay more attention to their health since the health crisis, especially young women, who 71.8% indicate that the health crisis has “truly” meant a turning point in their self-care.
Graphic from the report “The gender perspective in health saves lives”More attention does not mean more time
But as the report highlights, paying more attention to one’s own health does not mean that the care they need is carried out, so that 66% indicate that they do not have more time than before the pandemic to take care of themselves.
In this sense, according to the survey, 73.4% of women claim to be more aware of the health of the people around them than of their own.
Three out of ten Spanish women have ever changed a medical consultation to take care of their family; in the case of women between 36 and 55 years of age, the percentage rises to 40%.
“They, once again, assume the role of caregivers even in the face of their own health,” underlines the Observatory report.
“Sandwich Generation”
It is precisely in the age range between 36 and 55 years where the lack of time for themselves is highest.
The Observatory explains that they belong to the so-called “sandwich generation”, in which they coincide “having to take care of two gangs: young and old”.
And it is they who are affected, among other factors, by the fact that the age to be a mother in Spain is getting higher (32.61 years), with which the population is getting older.