Why Women’s Health Month is Important to Me
James Grant, M.D.
| 4 min read
James D. Grant, M.D., is senior vice president and c...
I may be the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, but in my household, my wife holds that role. It is typical for women to be the CMOs for their families. After all, women make 80% of health care decisions.
And because women are attending to their loved ones’ health care needs, it often means they put their own health on the back burner.
This is why Women’s Health Month, every May, is so important to me. As a son, husband, father and physician, I want to make sure women pay attention to their health, get necessary screenings and get the care they need.
The fact is women are not only challenged to get needed health care due to their time limits and family responsibilities. Medical research in women’s health is greatly underfunded, and women are underrepresented in clinical trials, resulting in a knowledge gap around how diseases and their treatments affect women.
In addition, there’s a rising trend in chronic conditions and an aging population, both of which greatly affect women’s health.
Some specific health issues that affect women across the U.S. include:
- Maternal mortality and disparities among women of color: In 2023, the most recent year for which we have data, the overall rate of women dying due to pregnancy or childbirth, declined from 22.3 to 18.6 deaths per 100,000 live births. However, that rate is 50.3 for Black women.
In Michigan, Blue Cross funds the Obstetrics Initiative, an effort among health professionals at 70 hospitals statewide to improve maternal health outcomes and advance maternal health equity. It’s a start, but more needs to be done. - Osteoporosis: Women are four times more likely to develop osteoporosis then men. This condition in which bones become brittle, less dense and weaker greatly increases a person’s risk of fracture. The International Osteoporosis Foundation estimates that one in two women over age 50 will break a bone due to osteoporosis. Fractures, particularly when experienced later in age, can require additional care such as surgery, physical therapy and prescription medication.
While oral, injection and infusion medications are available to slow the progression of bone loss, bone-building treatment is more costly and is usually reserved for those whose bone density is very low or who have had fractures. - Heart disease: Heart disease is the leading cause of death for women in the U.S. Yet, women make up less than 40% of people enrolled in clinical research. And because women’s symptoms often differ from men’s, heart disease may go unrecognized in women.
For example, rather than chest pain, symptoms of heart attack in women are more likely to involve pain in the neck, jaw, shoulder, upper back or upper stomach; shortness of breath; fatigue; dizziness; or heartburn. - Depression: Women are twice as likely to develop depression than men and more likely to have severe depression. A 2021 NIH study found that the prevalence of a major depressive episode was 10.3% for women compared to men's 6.2%.
Many factors increase a woman’s risk of depression, such as hormonal fluctuation–particularly around childbirth and menopause–and increased stress from societal expectations.
In addition to these health issues, implicit bias in medicine can lead to women being underdiagnosed or misdiagnosed in the emergency room and at the doctor’s office. For example, a 2019 study found women were less likely to be diagnosed with minor strokes than men. Another study found women have a seven times higher risk of being incorrectly diagnosed while experiencing heart attacks. These issues deserve more attention from the medical community, the research community and from the community at large.
Women’s Health Month is a prime opportunity to raise awareness of these challenges and encourage women to advocate for themselves in the health care setting. To all the women in our lives, I wish you good health and well-being this month and every month.
Image: Getty Images
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