Some, such as osteoporosis, involve aging as well - and women on average live longer than men. Other diseases involve women s role in reproduction and in the bearing and nursing of children. Women tend to carry more fat, in which substances introduced lower in the food chain may accumulate. Women also greatly influence the health of their children. Taking drugs, including prescription drugs and nonprescription drugs as common as aspirin, may affect a pregnancy.
Smoking is linked to lower birth weight, douching to reduced fertility.
Together, these genes may account for much familial breast cancer, the kind that clusters in some families. A test has been devised to identify women carrying the defective BRCA1 gene. Grantees are studying the possible role of pesticides that may mimic some of the activity of estrogen. Institute scientists also collaborated on a study that showed that late first pregnancy and late menopause were associated with a higher risk of breast cancer, while women with four or more pregnancies had a significantly lower risk. Environmental estrogens are a variety of synthetic chemicals and natural plant compounds that are thought to mimic the female hormone estrogen.