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How Women and Men Treat Health Differently

Men and Women are built differently, so their bodies have different needs. There are different tendencies, genetic factors, and lifestyle choices that are noticeable when seeing the difference between how men and women treat their healthcare.

Being Proactive:

It may be due to stereotypical penchants set by society, but according to the British Medical Journal (BMJ), men are much less likely to be proactive about their health. They often keep symptoms to themselves or ignore them, setting the stage for more health problems to develop.

Women, on the other hand, are more likely to notice symptoms, do research or discuss with friends and family, then seek the treatment they need. 

Now, these are generalizations and every person is different, but research shows there is a consistent pattern where men are less likely to take care of their health, not due to laziness or ignorance, but because standards set by society create a stigma that discourages them from acting on suspicion or seeking help.

Tendency in Disease:

There are some differences in the likeliness of health issues that stem from genetics. Some conditions, whether fatal or harmless, are linked to gender. Many of the major diseases such as cancer and heart disease are more likely in men than women. Disease tendencies also cross along lines of ethnicity which can determine the quality and longevity of life even further based on genetic predispositions.

Treatments:

The way a man’s and a woman’s body react to treatment also vary. Women have different metabolic enzymes that can affect the way they metabolize medicine. They also may react negatively to certain medicines more often than men, which makes it less likely for them to take prescriptions. Body size and lifestyle choices may also be factors influencing the way in which treatments will work causing differences in risk factors and treatment success.

What men and women both seem to find in common, is the likelihood to be forgetful with their prescription medications.

Many of the differences found in the treatment of healthcare between both men and women stem from social stigmas and genetic predispositions that can vary the likelihood of disease and the treatment of it. Regardless of gender or age, healthcare is important and no matter what social standards are set or the differences in care needed, the important matter is that health is the number one priority!

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