Tips
Prevention
Are women the weaker sex when it comes to medical care? In any case, we know that gender influences the diagnosis and treatment of a lot of diseases. And even if women still live longer than men, they have fewer years of living in good health in our country.
About the author:
This article was written byDr Eric Mertens,General Manager of DSB Communication, editor ofSEMPER Luxembourg™ and Letz be healthy™, and was produced in collaboration with DKV Luxembourg.
The statistical report on women’s lives in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg published by the STATEC in 2023 showed that, according to the Luxembourg government, women’s life expectancy was 85 years, compared to 81.7 years for men. However, men live longer in good health (up to 64 years) compared to women (62 years), and it is the same in Scandinavian countries, in Portugal and in the Netherlands. In the other European countries, the opposite has been observed.
Luxembourg is therefore in 16th position at a European level, below the European average (65 years). Women live in good health for the longest time in Malta, and for the shortest in Latvia.
The rise of gender medicine
Understanding this gap between the sexes (the so-called “gender health gap”) is the focus of gender medicine, which has seen a steep rise over the past few years, with the objective of ensuring that differences between men and women are taken into account in research, prevention and treatment.
Men have, in fact, been treated as the standard patient for a very long time while women have been excluded from a large number of studies, including for new medicines, which have been tested either exclusively, or primarily, on men. As a result, to this day, their specific needs are still inadequately taken into account. Thus, we know that women with endometriosis, for example, suffer for several years before a diagnosis is made.
A European Directive to promote equality in clinical research has been in place since 2017. Despite this progress, women are still often under-represented. And even the development of artificial intelligence constitutes a vicious circle, because it is based on the available data... in which men are over-represented. The chicken and the egg, therefore.
Autism is different in women
For example, according to recent research by the Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences (FHSE) at the University of Luxembourg, women with autistic spectrum disorder are probably under-diagnosed, because their social skills tend to mask their autism.
However, in the long term, the efforts women with autism make to behave “like other people” can lead to exhaustion, depression or burn-out. One mechanism among many that explains why, from a very young age, mental health and well-being are systematically worse in women than in men.
Healthcare for and by women: did you know?
For a female patient, being treated by a male or female doctor can sometimes make a difference. But having the option to see a doctor of your own gender hasn't always been evident. We would like to pay homage to a few pioneers from the Grand Duchy.
In 1922, Marcelle Dauphin, was the first female dentist in Luxembourg. The following year in 1923, Louise Welter became the first female general practitioner who would later become the school doctor for the city of Luxembourg. Among gynaecologists, we can mention Flore Kayl, a gynaecologist established in 1932 in Esch, as well as Elise Hannes a paediatrician and gynaecologist established in 1934 in Luxembourg City.
Finally, the two first female pharmacists in the country were Mari Lentz (born in 1896) who left the country with her German husband in 1925, and Marguerite Delmotte (born in 1902), who graduated in 1928 and became established in Esch in 1930.
Source: Dr Henri Kugener (Semper Luxembourg)
Under-diagnosed heart attacks
As the World Heart Federation reminds us, women affected by cardiovascular diseases continue to be under-diagnosed and under-treated due to misconceptions and a lack of awareness in patients and doctors. Even to the point that women are more likely to die from a heart attack than men.
This situation is primarily due to misconceptions, in particular the widespread conviction that cardiovascular diseases affect men more than women. Some manifestations of cardiovascular disease in women can also differ from those observed in men, which means that their symptoms are sometimes attributed to anxiety for example.
Thus, did you know that in our countries, over the past 15 years, the percentage of women under 50 who have suffered a myocardial infarction has tripled, and that in the event of a heart attack, a woman is 27% less likely to be given cardiac massage than a man?
Initiatives in Luxembourg
Since 2017, the CHL Menopause Clinic offers comprehensive and personalised care for symptoms and health risks that can increase following the hormonal changes that occur during the menopause.
To learn more about the Menopause Clinic: chl.lu/fr/service/clinique-de-la-menopause
Cardiovascular risk factors in women
There are several major risk factors for cardiovascular diseases that affect women and men equally, in particular high blood pressure, poor diet, obesity, a sedentary lifestyle and hypercholesterolaemia.
But other risk factors can play a great role as well:
- Diabetes: diabetic women are more likely to develop a cardiac disease than diabetic men;
- Smoking: women who smoke are more likely to develop a cardiac disease than men who smoke;
- Menopause: the drop in oestrogen after the menopause increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases;
- Complications of pregnancy: high blood pressure or diabetes during pregnancy can increase the long-term risk of high blood pressure, diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
In Luxembourg, cardiovascular diseases are the primary cause of death in women, claiming 6 times as many victims as breast cancer. That is why a comprehensive cardiovascular check-up is recommended for all women over the age of 50.
DKV Luxembourg health insurance
Discover