Women - Different Health Risks at Different Ages

Someone asked me recently what health risks I see women take voluntarily that put them at increased risk for chronic diseases or pre-mature death.

My answer depends on the age of the woman. The following are risks I see women face at different ages.

Young women (ages 16 to 35): practicing unsafe sex. Intercourse without condoms exposes women to more than just a risk of an unwanted pregnancy. Condoms protect both partners from a host of sexually transmitted diseases including: HIV, hepatitis C, gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, HPV, and syphilis.

Older women often have more experience and are more comfortable handling condoms in an intimate relationship. Younger and less experienced women may either feel pressured by a partner not to use them or too embarrassed or ashamed to buy and learn how to use them properly.

Safe sex should be an important and loving aspect of any intimate relationship that is not certain to be monogomous on both partners part for the rest of their lives. I don’t believe, in this day and age, anyone between the ages of 16 and 35 can be certain of that. I don’t believe it of many older couples either.

Adult women (ages 35 to 65): ignoring vague symptoms, failing to get routine medical care or not taking prescribed medications exactly as ordered. Heart disease in women often presents with only vague symptoms. It may only be a feeling of fatigue or it may have no symptoms at all.

Everyone – men and women both – age 35 and older should know their health risks for cardiovascular disease AND be working with a health professional to control each and every one they have.

Elder women (ages 65 to 90): not taking fall precautions. More than 90% of hip fractures among adults ages 65 and older are caused by falls. Hip fractures often result in loss of independence and may even require admission to a nursing home. About one out of five people who fracture their hips die within a year.

Only women themselves can prevent falls and fractures. How?

• Maintain good balance skills through practices like yoga and Tai chi.
• Maintain adequate bone density by engaging in regular weight bearing exercise (walking is great) for one’s whole life.
• Avoid ladders, rushing, watch where you are walking (particularly in dark or unfamiliar places).
• Get regular Dexa scan bone density screenings, take adequate calcium and vitamin D, plus medication if recommended.
• And don’t be too proud to use stability aids like walkers if they are necessary and will prevent falls.

The following is a list of the most common health risks that everyone – men and women both – share.

• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Diabetes
• Smoking
• Being overweight
• Poor nutrition
• Lack of exercise
• Stress and anxiety
• Depression.

These risks are ingredients in a recipe that will cook up a chronic disease or catastrophic health event. Most are preventable and all of them are controllable. Whether you are a man or a woman, if you take care of these you’ll be taking care of the most serious, most common (and most silent) health risks.

This information is offered for educational purposes only and is not intended to diagnose, prescribe or treat. For that please seek direct care from a health professional.

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