Twice as many women as men have suffered from clinically significant depression at some time in their lives. At least 90 percent of all cases of eating disorders occur in women. Thirty-nine percent of all women experience some type of violence or abuse during their lifetime. Women and men respond differently to medical treatment and exhibit different physiological and mental symptoms of the same disease . Although typically viewed as a man s disease, more women actually die of heart disease each year than men.
Heart disease is the number one killer of American women as well as Kentucky women.
There are significant gender differences related to tobacco use, its effect and impact. Cigarette smoking is more damaging to women than men. According to a recent study in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, women who smoke experience more wheezing, breathlessness, persistent coughing and asthma than men who smoke. Women are the fastest growing group of AIDS patients. Estrogen deficiency may be responsible for a greatly increased risk of heart disease.