How Your Gender Affects Your Health

When it comes to health issues and risks, gender can play a more significant role than many realize. Though a well-balanced diet and healthy weight is essential for everyone, certain diseases can impact you more than those of the opposite sex. Here’s what you should know to help identify symptoms and be aware of your risk factors:

Colon Cancer Risks

Though both genders have similar symptoms of colon cancer, such as rectal bleeding, diarrhea, or constipation, women have a slightly higher chance of tumors on the right side of the colon than men. Right-sided tumors tend to be more aggressive than the left and require different treatments. Testing should start at 50 for both genders. However, men are often more likely to put it off.

Heart Health and Heart Attacks

Cardiovascular disease is the number one cause of death among adults in the United States. Though the average age for women’s heart attacks is higher than males’, they are often deadlier for women. This means it’s vital that women fully understand how symptoms can differ.

As with men, women’s most common symptom is pressure in the chest. However, they are more likely to experience nausea/vomiting, back or jaw pain, and shortness of breath.

Alzheimer’s disease

Though two-thirds of Americans with Alzheimer’s are women, that statistic could be due to a longer lifespan. Symptoms do vary by gender, with men having less obvious memory loss and are more likely to have mood swings and sudden agitation. For women, your risk factor increases if you go through menopause before 45 years of age. Weight also increases your risk more for women than men.

Methodist Premier Wellness is centered around your total health: mind, body, and spirit. Whether you are home or away, we are accessible and ready to assist you! Schedule your comprehensive health exam, or contact Dr. Hollenshead about preventive and diagnostic dermatology today.