Study Reveals Men Are More Vulnerable To Ill And Quickly Die Than Women

Illustration of men dying faster than women (Freepik)

JAKARTA - Men have a much higher risk of early death than women due to 20 major health problems in the world. These findings were presented in a recent global study published on May 1 at The Lancet Public Health.

In the report, researchers found that male morbidity and mortality were higher than that of women for 13 of the 20 main causes of injury and disease in 2021. This includes Covid-19, traffic accidents, heart disease, lung disorders, and liver disease.

"Our findings highlight significant and unique health challenges faced by men," said Vedavati Patwardhan, lead researcher from the University of California-San Diego, quoted from the US News page.

Among these challenges are conditions that cause premature death, especially in the form of traffic injury, cancer, and heart disease. We need national health strategies and plans that target the needs of men throughout their lives, including interventions in the risk of behavior such as alcohol consumption and smoking, which usually begins at a young age," he added.

Researchers also note that although women tend to live longer, they experience higher levels of pain throughout life. Muscle and bone problems, mental health disorders, and headaches become a number of non-fatal diseases that women experience more.

This study analyzed data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021, the most extensive and comprehensive effort to track diseases and deaths around the world. The focus of this analysis is comparing health conditions affecting both sexes, by excluding specific diseases such as ovarian cancer or prostate.

As a result, men experience 45% more pain and death from Covid-19 than women, with the biggest difference occurring in sub-Saharan areas of Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean.

"The timing of this study is very appropriate, not only because of the evidence that has been collected, but also because Covid-19 clearly shows that biological differences between genders can greatly affect health outcomes," said Luisa Sorio Flor, assistant professor of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington.

Heart disease is the second-largest cause in burdening male health, with 45% higher morbidity and death rates than women. The regions of Central Europe, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia are the areas with the highest heart disease burdens in men, which are 49% more at risk.

Researchers also found that the difference in health risks between men and women tends to be small at a young age, but increases with age. However, there are exceptions, namely traffic accidents, which disproportionately affect young men aged 10 to 24 years worldwide.

Meanwhile, in women, back pain is the main cause of pain. The numbers are recorded to be a third higher than men in 2021, especially in high-income countries, such as Latin America and the Caribbean.

Different from men, women tend to start experiencing health conditions from a young age, and these diseases get worse with age.

"The big cause of loss of health in women, especially musculoskeletal disorders and mental health, has not received proper attention," said Gabriela Gil, a fellow researcher from IHME.

Gil emphasized that women's health needs must be expanded beyond the focus so far on sexual and reproductive issues.

This finding is also in line with another study published in PLOS Medicine on the same day. This shows that men are more susceptible to death from high blood pressure, diabetes, and HIV/AIDS, largely because they tend to ignore medical services.

This study highlights how women and men are biologically and socially different, impacting their health experiences at every stage of life and region of the world, Flor said.

The challenge now is to design, implement, and evaluate prevention and treatment approaches that take into account gender and gender from an early age and in diverse populations. " close.