**FEB**
               SEP
				**FEB**23**2005**
               2006
				**2007****26 captures**
           24 Nov 02 - 12 Oct 07
   Close
       Help


|WOMEN’S HEALTH ISSUES: AN OVERVIEW

**[Previous section]**

SPECIAL POPULATIONS

MINORITY WOMEN

Many women of color continue to suffer disproportionately from premature death,
disease, and disabilities. In 1997, life expectancy was 79.4 for white women, 74.9 for
African American women, and 75.7 for all other minority women1. Women of color
also have greater prevalence of such chronic illnesses as cardiovascular
disease, lupus,
certain types of cancer,
and diabetes as well as certain infectious diseases like hepatitis,
tuberculosis,
and AIDS.
Infant mortality is highest among African American and Puerto Rican women, and maternal
mortality is more frequent among African American, Hispanic, and American Indian/Alaskan
Native women than among white women68. African American and Hispanic women are
also at greater risk than white women of homicide and HIV/AIDS1.

Women of color are more likely than white women to live in poverty—a factor which
is strongly linked to a greater frequency and severity of illness and premature death1.
Limited access to health care and lower utilization rates for many preventive health
services are more prevalent among women of color, due to the legacies of discrimination
and dearth of minority providers, as well as to cultural, financial, practical, and other
access barriers to health care67.
ADOLESCENT GIRLS

Adolescence represents a dynamic, developmental period when young women make important
choices about life-style behaviors, including diet, physical activity, sexual activity,
and use of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs that can influence their health and
well-being throughout adulthood. The leading cause of death among adolescent girls is
unintentional injury37. Physical and sexual
abuse are experienced by more than 1 in 5 high school girls, and the proportion
showing signs of depression
is 1 in 469. Surveys indicate that 28 percent of high school girls think they
are overweight, 60 percent report trying to lose weight, and 8 percent regularly binge and
purge1, 34. An estimated 37 percent of teen girls smoked in the last month1,
48 percent report frequent drinking1, and 15 percent rarely or never use a seat
belt3.

Youth and young adults under age 24 comprise the least medically served age group in
this country. An estimated one in every seven adolescents ages 10-18 years and 27 percent
of those ages 19 to 24 has no health insurance70, 71,. Many more lack access to
affordable, comprehensive, and confidential services targeted to their needs72.
OLDER WOMEN

Women live an average of 7 years longer than men. Life expectancy is expected to
continue to increase into the next century, with higher gains for women than men. In 1998,
there were 20.3 million women over age 65 and 14.3 million men2. By the year
2030, the proportion of Americans over age 65 is expected to double, and the number living
over age 85 will triple73. Projections indicate that 7 out of 10 baby boom
wives will outlive their husbands—generally by 15 to 20 years74.

Due to their greater longevity, women run a greater risk than men of suffering from the
chronic disorders and disabilities that increase with age such as cancer,
obesity,
arthritis,
osteoporosis,
and heart
disease.

Older women are also more likely than older men to live in poverty. Nearly
three-fourths of the Nation’s elderly poor are women. Moreover, women spend more of
their disposable income—up to 25 percent—on out of pocket health care expenses73.
Two-thirds of older women do not take advantage of preventive screening services like mammography
due to the cost, the perception that they do not need these services, or because their
physician does not recommend them75.

There are also promising trends for the emerging population of older women. Disability
rates are falling dramatically, and women are attaining greater education and economic
independence. If women actively engage in healthy behaviors, the twenty-first century will
see them enjoy lives that are not only longer, but indeed healthier.
INCARCERATED WOMEN

Although women account for only 6.5% of all prisoners nationwide, they are the fastest
growing incarcerated population in the United States. During 1998, the number of women
under the jurisdiction of State or Federal prison authorities reached a total of 84,427
outpacing the rise in the number of men for the third consecutive year76. In
addition, at midyear 1998, 63,791 women were held daily in jails77 and 737,958
female juvenile arrest were made78.

Women in prison have health needs that are different from men’s resulting from
their relatively complex reproductive systems, status as pregnant women and mothers,
responsibility for minor children, increased high risk illicit drug behavior, increased
rates of HIV positivity, and history of physical and sexual abuse79.

**[Next Section] [Endnotes]**

May 2000
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

|Home | Search | FAQ's
| Body Image | Healthy PregnancyHealth News & Legislation | Dictionaries & Journals | OWH | en EspañolGuest Editor Program | What's New?
| About NWHIC | Privacy
Policy | FOIAContact
NWHICor call 1-800-994-WOMANNWHIC is a service of theOffice on Women's Health in theDepartment of Health and Human Services
|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------