Gender, Health and Ageing

The diseases which afflict older men and women are the same - but rates, trends, and types of these differ between women and men. Conditions that account for the majority of mortality and morbidity among older people stem from experiences and behaviours at younger ages, such as smoking, alcohol abuse, infectious disease, dangerous work conditions, violence and poor health care. Since the degree to which women and men are exposed to these various risk factors is different, the patterns and impact of the major diseases varies also. Overall, men's mortality rates from cancer are 30-50 percent higher than women's, largely driven by more lung cancer among men. Common mental health problems have a higher recorded prevalence in older women than in older men - in part, due to some doctors' greater readiness to diagnose mental illness in women, and/or fewer men coming forward to ask for help. In most countries, cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the main killer of older people of both sexes. To effectively reach older people, interventions must take account of gender differences. The many restrictions on women's power and autonomy mean that older women will sometimes have more difficulty than older men in accessing public healthcare. The ways in which gender affects people's capacities and behaviour must be examined and addressed if interventions are to be effective.