Domestic
Violence
Virtually every web site addressing women's health issues includes
domestic violence as one of the major health risks. In domestic violence,
the victim—who is usually female—is physically and/or emotionally
battered by her husband or an intimate partner. An estimated 2-4 million
women are physically assaulted by their partners each year; emotional
abuse is harder to assess. Neither the women nor the abusers fit a profile.
Victims of domestic violence come in all ages and races and from all
socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. Victims may appear passive
and rabbity or angry and aggressive. Abusers may be highly educated and
charming. Although substance abuse, unemployment, and poverty may add
fuel to the situation, a desire for control and power over the partner
is the real motivator behind the abuse. Diana Patterson, LGSW, a social
worker and violence prevention coordinator at Mayo Clinic (Rochester,
Minn.), says, "A lot of people think domestic violence is about
anger, and it really isn't. . . . Batterers do tend to take their
anger out on their intimate partner. But it's not really about
anger. It's about trying to instill fear and wanting to have power
and control in the relationship."
Contrary to accepted theory, victims of domestic violence do not attract
abuse by having low self-esteem. Rather, the situation tends to sneak
up on them. Their partners may begin by occasionally criticizing them.
As the perpetrator seeks more control, the criticism can turn into coercion,
threats, demands for total economic control, and jealous stalking of
the partner's movement until she is isolated from family and friends.
Eventually, the abuse escalates further. The abuser may destroy the woman's
personal property, harm her pets, threaten her children, as well as physically
assault her. A repetitive cycle ensues in which the abuser attacks with
words or actions, then expresses regret, begs for forgiveness or promises
to change. Eventually, tension builds and he strikes again. The attacks
tend to become increasingly violent and happen with greater frequency. "It's
important to know that these relationships don't happen overnight," says
Patterson. "It's a gradual process—a slow disintegration
of a person's sense of self." The environment becomes so
stressful and chaotic that the victim begins to doubt herself and lose
her sense of reality and her self-esteem. Long-term effects of domestic
abuse include self-neglect or self-injury, depression, anxiety, panic
attacks, sleep disorders, chronic pain, eating disorders, sexual dysfunction,
substance abuse, and, possibly, aggression against others.
Often, a woman may try to leave the abusive environment several times
before she can leave permanently. Threats against herself or her children
and fears about loss of custody may keep her in the abuser's power.
Lack of money, lack of a safe alternative place in which to live, and
lack of support from law enforcement, friends and family, clergy and
other professionals are other factors that hamper a victim's escape.
The toll-free National Domestic Violence Hotline provides information
for victims and for people who want to help them: 800–799-SAFE
(24 hours, English and Spanish) or 800–787–3224 (TDD for
deaf callers). If a person is in immediate danger or calling for help,
dial 911 (in most places in the US and Canada) or the local emergency
number. When faced with losing control over his victim, an abuser can
become very dangerous.
American Bar Association. Multidisciplinary Responses to Domestic Violence
www.abanet.org
American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence. Myths and Facts
about Domestic Violence. www.abanet.org
American Medical Association. Domestic Violence. www.medem.com
Domestic abuse: Help is available. www.MayoClinic.com 21 May 2003
Medications in Drinking Water
The presence of very low concentrations of human and animal pharmaceuticals
and antibiotics, natural and synthetic hormones, detergents, insecticides,
and other 'organic waste-related chemicals' in US streams
was documented in a 2002 US Geological Survey. The report identifies
95 chemicals that eventually make their way into our drinking water.
Drinking water standards or health advisories have been set for only
81 of the 95 chemicals. Coprostanol (a fecal steroid), N-N-diethyltoluamide
(an insect repellant), caffeine, triclosan (an antimicrobial disinfectant),
tri (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (a fire retardant), and 4-nonylphenol
(a detergent by-product) appeared in the water samples most often.
An update, released in August 2004, says that sewage treatment
plants do not remove the chemicals—they are, in fact, part of the problem.
Robert Morris, MD, PhD, an environmental health consultant and professor
at Tufts University, says, " . . . Treatment systems were all
initially designed to get rid of bacteria and viruses. They have filters
and use chlorine, but that doesn't do a whole lot to get rid
of chemical contaminants." Among those contaminants are pharmaceuticals
that people excrete as well as any unused drugs that people dump
into a drain or down the toilet. The amount of chemical contamination
in
drinking water depends upon the number and the size of the sewage
treatment plants that dump effluent into the river or lake which
supplies the
water. Some areas of the country have more chemicals in their water
than others.
No one is sure how—or if—these chemicals affect human health.
Robert Morris says, "The presumption has been that the stuff
gets so diluted that it won't cause a problem. Whether or not
that's true is another issue. People used to think that about
microbes and bacteria, and discovered they were pretty wrong about
that. . . . There's evidence that concentrations coming out of
treatment plants have an effect on things living in the water. They're
obviously going to get the highest exposure. Whether the lower exposure
has an effect on humans, we don't know." Herb Buxton, coordinator
of the Toxic Substances Hydrology Program, expresses special concern
about the presence of antibiotics that may foster antibiotic-resistance
in microbes as well as the unknown effect of natural human hormones
and synthetic hormones in the water. Synthetic hormones come from birth
control pills, hormone supplements, and estrogen-like compounds found
in detergents. Although Morris says that "[t]here's no
cause for panic," he does recommend that pregnant women or women
who are trying to get pregnant drink bottled or filtered water. (Since
bottled water may simply be tap water from an unknown source, filtered
water seems more appropriate.)
Davis, Jeanie Lerche. Prozac in Drinking Water? Likely So. http://my.webmd.com/content/Article/92/101794.htm
Eating Disorders
Eating disorders—anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and binge eating
disorder—are becoming increasingly common among all socioeconomic,
ethnic, and cultural groups. The US Department of Health and Human
Service (DHHS) Office on Women's Health says that " . .
. the number of American women affected by these illnesses has doubled
to at least five million in the past three decades." Although
these disorders primarily affect women, they are showing up with increased
frequency among males—especially those who feel a need to prevent
weight gain (e.g., wrestlers). Eating disorders are categorized as
mental illness, but they have serious effects on the physical body.
Although several risk factors have been identified, the exact cause
remains unknown.
People with anorexia nervosa are so fearful of becoming overweight
that they eat very little. Their self-image becomes skewed, and they
believe themselves overweight even when they are very thin. This
self-critical stance extends to all areas of their lives. Anorexics
tend to hide
their low self-esteem and poor self-confidence under a cloak of perfectionism
and overachievement. Anorexia usually arises between ages 14 to 18
after a stressful life event, such as the onset of puberty or leaving
the parents' home to go to college. The physical effects caused
by the self-imposed starvation diet include brittle hair and nails,
dry skin, lowered pulse rate, cold intolerance, reduced muscle mass,
amenorrhea, joint swelling, mild anemia, and constipation as well
as occasional diarrhea. The malnutrition also increases the possibility
of irregular heart rhythms, heart failure, and osteoporosis later
in
life. Most anorexics suffer from clinical depression, anxiety, personality
disorders, or substance abuse. "Approximately 1 in 10 women afflicted
with anorexia will die of starvation, cardiac arrest, or other medical
complication, making its death rate among the highest for a psychiatric
disease," according to the US DHHS Office on Women's Health.
Unlike those with anorexia nervosa, people with bulimia nervosa tend
to have a normal or above normal body weight, making the condition
more difficult to diagnose. Bulimics secretly overeat until they are
uncomfortably full, then use self-induced vomiting, and/or excessive
exercise, fasting, or abuse of laxatives, diet pills, and diuretics
to offset the eating binge. This routine can occur once a week or several
times a day. Bulimia usually begins during late adolescence and early
adulthood in people who have difficulty with stress and anxiety and
have poor impulse control. The repeated vomiting, characteristic of
bulimia, upsets electrolyte balance and causes a loss of potassium,
increasing the likelihood of cardiac arrest. It also irritates the
esophagus and damages salivary glands. Binge eating has recently been
recognized as a clinical entity of it own. People with binge eating
disorder have repeated episodes of overeating, often accompanied by
feelings of depression, guilt, or self-disgust. Unlike people with
bulimia, they do not purge or over-exercise and are often overweight.
Curing an eating disorder can be extremely difficult. Relapse rates
are high. At this time, DHHS Office of Women's Health says that "there
is no universally accepted standard treatment," but it does recommend
an integrated approach that includes nutritionists, psychotherapists,
endocrinologists, and other physicians. Preventing an eating disorder
is much easier than curing one. Anorexia and Related Eating Disorders,
Inc. (www.anred.com) offers several suggestions for parents to follow
that can prevent a child from becoming preoccupied with physical attractiveness
and thinness. Parents who are comfortable with their own bodies—regardless
of size or shape—and who emphasize the importance of nourished,
physically-fit bodies, instead of thinness and the demonization of
certain foods, provide excellent role models. Parents who criticize
their own bodies or the bodies of others, even in jest, emphasize physical
appearance and may contribute to a child's low body esteem. The
web site warns parents not to tell a child who feels unattractive that
s/he is good-looking; the compliment will stir up anxiety and disbelief,
instead of bolstering self-esteem. Praising children for their personal
qualities and for what they accomplish de-emphasizes our culture's
fixation on physical appearance. Children are bombarded by many media
images and peer prejudices about beauty and thinness. It is important
for parents to provide a reality check about what constitutes a normal,
healthy size. ANRED warns: "Given sufficient peer pressure to
diet, societal demands for thinness, and parental expectations of
excellence, a vulnerable child can collapse into an obsessive pursuit
of thinness
and compulsive, unhealthy behaviors to reach that goal."
Anorexia Nervosa and Related Eating Disorders, Inc. Eating disorders
prevention: parents are key players. www.anred.com
The US Department of Health and Human Service's Office on Women's
Health. Eating Disorders. www.4woman.gov
Female Sexual Arousal
For three decades, researchers have investigated patterns of sexual
arousal in heterosexual and homosexual men. Not surprisingly, they
found that heterosexual men were aroused by erotic images of women
while homosexual men responded to images of men. "Men's
specific pattern of sexual arousal is such a reliable fact that genital
arousal can be used to assess men's sexual preferences," explains
a Science Daily article (13 June 2003). "Even gay men who deny
their own homosexuality will become more sexually aroused by male
sexual stimuli than by female stimuli." Researchers assumed
that women follow the same kind of pattern, but a 2003 study from
Northwestern University found a significant difference: "both
homosexual and heterosexual women showed a bisexual pattern of
psychological as well as genital arousal."
In the Northwestern experiment, published in Psychological
Science,
heterosexual and homosexual men and women watched three types of
erotic films: films with heterosexual couples, films with men only,
and films
with women only. The researchers measured psychological and physiological
responses in the viewers. As in earlier studies, the men responded
according to sexual orientation. In this study, however, heterosexual
women were just as aroused by films showing women as they were by
films showing men, and lesbians responded to the erotic images
of men as
well as those of women. Meredith Chivers, a PhD candidate in clinical
psychology at Northwestern University and the study's first author,
believes that researchers need to "develop a model of the development
and organization of female sexuality independent from models of male
sexuality." J. Michael Bailey, professor and chair of psychology
at Northwestern and senior researcher for this study, says, "These
findings likely represent a fundamental difference between men's
and women's brains and have important implications for understanding
how sexual orientation development differs between men and women.
. . . Since most women seem capable of sexual arousal to both sexes,
why do they choose one or the other?"
Study Suggests Difference Between Female and Male Sexuality. Science
Daily 13 June 2003
Menstrual Suppression
Not surprisingly, women without access to birth control have far fewer
menstrual periods during their lifetime than those with access. (Multiple
pregnancies and breast feeding prevent ovulation and menstruation.)
Some believe that the high number of periods may be unnatural, even
harmful. Scientist Beverly Strassmann observed the reproductive profile
of the Dogon tribe of Mali in the 1980s for two and a half years.
She found that Dogon women average about a hundred periods in their
lifetime. Western women with access to birth control menstruate between
350 and 400 times. Some researchers, like Drs. Elsimar Coutinho and
Sheldon S. Segal, believe that this 'incessant ovulation' is
harmful, contributing to migraines, endometriosis, fibroids, and,
possibly, to breast, ovarian, and endometrial cancers. Coutinho and
Segal wrote the book Is Menstruation Obsolete?
How Suppressing Menstruation Can Help Women Who Suffer from Anemia,
Endometriosis, or PMS.
In September 2003, the FDA approved Seasonale, a birth control pill
made by Barr Laboratories that causes just four periods a year. John
Rock and Gregory Pincus, developers of the original birth control pill,
knew that the hormones in the Pill suppressed ovulation and slowed
the usual proliferation of the endometrium (uterine lining). Consequently,
a woman taking the Pill could go months without having to menstruate
(the process during which the endometrial lining is shed). The Pill's
developers wanted to make the Pill's effect appear natural, so
they instituted a system in which the synthetic hormones were discontinued
every fourth week, resulting in a menstrual period. Doctors have known
that women could take the Pill for six to twelve weeks before they
have breakthrough bleeding or spotting and have even suggested this
schedule to patients with anemia and other menstrual-related disorders
and to those who wish to postpone their period until after a honeymoon
or vacation. Seasonale, like other birth control pills, contains synthetic
estrogen and progesterone. Women take it for 84 consecutive days before
taking a week of placebo that will result in a period.
Instead of preventing ovulation by using low levels of synthetic hormones
to trick the body into thinking that it's pregnant, some researchers
hope to suppress menstruation by using gonadotropin-releasing hormone
agonists (GnRHAs), according to a New Yorker article (10 March 2000).
GnRHAs prevent the pituitary gland from ordering the manufacture of
sex hormones. Malcom Pike, a medical statistician, and two oncologists,
Darcy Spicer and John Daniels, want to use GnRHAs and just enough estrogen
and progesterone to keep women's hearts and bones strong and
the uterus healthy without increasing the risk of breast cancer.
Critics, like psychiatrist Susan Rako, view menstrual suppression
as "the
largest uncontrolled experiment in medical history." Dr. Rako
says that testosterone deficiency can develop in women who eliminate
their periods with products like Seasonale. This deficiency leads
to diminished sexual desire, loss of muscle tone, reduced energy,
and
weight gain. Christine Hitchcock, a researcher at the Centre for
Menstrual Cycle and Ovulation Research at the University of British
Columbia,
raises concerns about breast and endometrial safety and bone density.
She also asserts that the studies on menstrual suppression are flawed
because they do not include a control group of women who are not
taking birth control pills. All of the subjects in menstrual suppression
studies
were already taking birth control pills, meaning they tolerate the
synthetic hormones. Safety is a concern of many consumers also; but
if researchers can find a safe way to suppress menstruation, market
research by RoperASW says that two-thirds of women are ready to sign
on.
Fried, Jennifer. Off the rag. http://archive.salon.com 24 November
2003
Gladwell, Malcolm. John Rock's Error. New
Yorker 10 March 2000
Hoffmann, Karen. Foes raise red flag against suppression of menstruation.
www.post-gazette.com 24 June 2003
Seasonale. www.drugs.com
Van Buskirk, Audrey. No Flow. Thestranger.com 18 September 2003
MSG & Obesity
Could the rise in obesity in the US be partly due to the amount of
monosodium glutamate (MSG) in processed food and restaurant fare?
Food manufacturers add MSG to almost every food product to enhance
flavor and encourage people to eat more. Unfortunately, the additive
stimulates the pancreas to overproduce insulin. After the insulin
rushes to store available sugar as fat, blood sugar levels drop,
and the person becomes hungry, tired, and ready to eat again. John
Erb, who wrote The Slow Poisoning of America, says that human studies
show that people eat more and eat more quickly when food is laced
with MSG. He found over 500 studies in which MSG was injected in
day-old laboratory rats and mice in order to make them obese with
a tendency toward diabetes. In test animals, MSG causes a chronic
overproduction of insulin. The body then produces killer T cells
to attack and shut down the pancreas.
In addition to stimulating insulin production, MSG is known to
damage the hypothalamus (which controls hunger) and other areas
of the brain.
MSG (like aspartame) is an excitotoxin—a substance that over-excites
and kills certain neurons. Glutamate industry defenders dispute the
charge, saying that MSG contains glutamate, a neurotransmitter that
occurs naturally in the brain and is found naturally in many foods.
Russell L. Blaylock, M.D. explains that glutamate is normally found
in minute concentrations (8–12 micrograms) in extracellular
fluid in the brain. By ingesting MSG, which is 79% free glutamic
acid, those
concentrations rise and neurons begin to fire abnormally. Also, the
glutamate in seaweed, tomatoes, and other crops is bound, which means
it is digested more slowly than free glutamate. Many of these foods
also contain antioxidants and other nutrients that protect the body
from glutamate's negative effects.
Aware that the addition of MSG to a product is controversial, food
manufacturers have turned to other flavor-enhancers that contain
free glutamic acid, ingredients such as yeast extract, hydrolyzed
protein
(including hydrolyzed vegetable/soy protein), calcium caseinate,
sodium caseinate, textured protein, hydrolyzed corn gluten, and autolyzed
yeast. Since 1997, MSG has been an ingredient in AuxiGro, a growth
enhancer that is sprayed on a variety of crops including lettuce,
strawberries,
and giant russet potatoes. Since MSG is being added to so many foods,
people eat about a teaspoon of it each day—far higher than
the micrograms found in a tomato.
Blaylock, Russell L., MD. Excitotoxins, Neurodegeneration and Neurodevelopment.
www.nancymarkle.com/blayenn.txt
Hidden Sources of Processed Free Glutamic Acid (MSG) www.truthinlabeling.com
MSG and Obesity. www.msgtruth.org/obesity.htm
Proof MSG Causes Obesity in Experimental Studies. www.rense.com/general53/ob.htm
Where is MSG hidden? www.truthinlabeling.com
Sexual Satisfaction
In Basic Health Publications' User's Guide
to Complete Sexual Satisfaction, writer Victoria Dolby Toews, MPH, explains many
factors that contribute to sexual satisfaction in women and men.
She emphasizes that the first step is to look at overall physical
health
since "the sexual problems of women (like men), are usually physical
in nature, and these physical causes can be treated." Poor cardiovascular
health, which can result from cigarette smoking, often underlies sexual
arousal disorder in women and men. Some prescription and over-the-counter
drugs also hamper blood flow to the genitals and may, in addition,
inhibit a person's interest in sex. Inadequate vaginal lubrication
is just one symptom of sexual arousal disorder in women. Other symptoms
include decreased swelling of the external genitalia, lessened vaginal
dilation, decreased clitoral and labial sensation, and impaired nipple
sensitivity. About 10–15% of women also frequently experience
pain during intercourse. The pain can be from a variety of causes
including irritation from spermicides and yeast infections.
Stress and fatigue are other 'sexual saboteurs,' Toews
writes. When the body responds to stress with adrenaline, blood flow
to areas not involved in the "fight-or-flight" response,
such as the genitals, decreases. Both stress and fatigue drain sexual
desire as well. Practicing stress management techniques or meditation
and getting enough sleep increases sexual interest and sexual response.
A healthful diet and exercise also improve sexual satisfaction. Although
similar physical issues and lifestyle factors affect the sexual health
of both women and men, the two sexes relate to sex differently. Women
tend to respond less quickly to sexual cues than men. For most women,
an emotional connection must be present before their bodies will respond.
Men, however, feel an emotional connection because of sexual contact.
Toews emphasizes the need to nurture intimacy and strengthen the emotional
connection through non-sexual touch—"an arm around a shoulder,
a hand resting on a thigh"—and communication. Keeping
that emotional connection strong can be a challenge when housekeeping,
finances,
and social obligations vie for attention. But without emotional connection,
intimacy, and good communication, anger and mistrust can build and
sexual satisfaction will decline. Sexual satisfaction depends on
having healthy bodies and a healthy relationship.
Toews writes, "Sex—like good nutrition, exercise, and mental
outlook—contributes to a longer, happier life. In other words,
you're never too old for a regular sex life, and in fact, a regular
sex life can help you reach old age. In one study of men and women,
having sex more frequently led to longer lives in men, while in women
enjoying sex more led to longer lives."
Toews, Victoria Dolby, MPH. Basic Health
Publications User's Guide to Complete Sexual Satisfaction. (Basic Health Publications,
2003) ISBN 1–59120–045–8
Smoking & Women
Women pay a higher price for their smoking habit than men do. Smoking
increases their risk of cardiovascular disease and lung cancer. It
is the major contributor to heart disease (particularly in women
under 50 years), which is the leading cause of death among US women.
Women using birth control pills who also smoke are especially vulnerable.
Lung cancer rates are 20 to 70% higher among women smokers than among
men who smoke the same amount of cigarettes, according to Canada's
Women's Health Network. Lung cancer kills more women than any
other kind of cancer, and its cause is directly linked to smoking.
Women who smoke also risk the health of their infants and children.
Smoking during pregnancy brings an increased risk of having a miscarriage
or stillbirth. The babies of women smokers are often born prematurely
and/or underweight. Children who breathe the secondhand smoke caused
by their parents are more likely to have ear infections, asthma,
pneumonia, bronchitis or die from SIDS.
When a women stops smoking, her body will heal and the risks of
disease decline. But women have a harder time quitting and suffer
with more
severe withdrawal symptoms than men do. It may take two or three
attempts before a woman can quit permanently. Many factors contribute
to relapse,
including drinking alcohol, being around smokers, gaining weight,
and stress. The web sites www.smokefree.gov and www.surgeongeneral.gov offer lifestyle suggestions and information on medications that make
quitting easier. The Surgeon General site also has a section for
practitioners
who are counseling patients to stop smoking. The article "Addictions" by
Emily Kane, ND (www.healthy.net) outlines non-pharmaceutical ways
to ease withdrawal symptoms, including acupuncture, vitamin C and
other
nutrients, and exercise.
Kane, Emily. Addictions. www.healthy.net
Smoking. www.4woman.gov/faq/smoking.htm
Ultrasound Warning
The FDA has issued a consumer warning about the non-medical, commercial
use of ultrasound devices in keepsake video facilities and is considering
regulatory action. These businesses provide high-resolution three-dimensional
and four-dimensional images of babies developing in the womb. Ultrasound
imaging uses high-frequency sound waves (sonograms) to produce images
of organs, tissues, even blood flow within the body. In maternal
medicine, obstetricians use it at low intensity to gain information
about the health, age, and position of fetuses. Research has given
practitioners little reason to worry about the knowledgeable use
of ultrasound energy. It is energy, however, and ultrasound converts
to heat in some tissue, raising temperatures.
Little is known about the long-term effects of repeated ultrasound
exposures on a fetus. Some studies have indicated that prenatal exposure
to diagnostic ultrasound may affect development, reflected in delayed
speech. A couple of studies have also linked ultrasound exposure
to an increased incidence of left-handedness, especially in boys.
Many
of these studies took place nearly 20 years ago when ultrasound equipment
produced eight times lower intensities than today's equipment.
A more recent study by the Mayo Foundation found that ultrasound
produces secondary vibrations in a woman's uterus that can be heard
by
the infant. In fact, the secondary noise has the pitch of the highest
notes on a piano and the loudness of "a subway train coming into
a station" (100 decibels). In an article posted at NewScientist.com,
Fredic Frigoletto, chief of maternal fetal medicine at Massachusetts
General Hospital (Boston), warns against pointing the ultrasound probe
directly at a fetus's ear unless the physician is seeking confirmation
of facial or cranial abnormalities—in which case, benefits "significantly
outweigh any theoretical consequences."
Mothers say that keepsake videos bring the benefit of early bonding
and the ability to share the prenatal experience with other family
members and friends. FDA and other medical experts, however, have concerns
about the expertise of people making these videos and worry that the
fetus is exposed for longer time periods (often repeatedly as parents-to-be
follow the pregnancy's progress) and at higher ultrasound intensities
than is safe. The FDA asks people to report keepsake video operations
in their area to Diagnostic Devices Branch, Office of Compliance, Center
for Devices and Radiological Health, HFZ-322, 2098 Gaither Road, Rockville,
MD 20850.
Rados, Carol. FDA Cautions Against Ultrasound 'Keepsake' Images.
FDA Consumer Magazine, January-February 2004
Fetuses can hear ultrasound examinations. NewScientist.com 4 December
2001
Health Differences
In 2001, the Society for Women's Health Research released its
Institute of Medicine report, "Exploring the Biological Contribution
to Human Health: Does Sex Matter?" It emphasized that the physical
differences between women and men extend to differences in health
risks, response to treatments, and even disease symptoms. For example,
heart
disease kills more women than men each year; but the disease appears
about ten years later in women than it does in men and with different
symptoms. Women are also more likely than men to have a second heart
attack within a year of the first. Women account for 75% of all cases
of autoimmune disease (e.g., multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis,
and lupus). Women's bodies take longer to break down ethanol
than men's because they produce less of a necessary gastric enzyme,
yet they awaken from anesthesia faster. Women and men also respond
differently to common drugs like antihistamines and antibiotics.
The Canadian Women's Health Network says that gender differences,
having to do with the different social roles and expectations for women
and men, also affect health. Many women hold low-paying jobs and have
additional stress from hours of unpaid caregiving. Too often healthcare
professionals automatically prescribe tranquilizers or anti-depressants
to women who complain of being tired all the time instead of asking
about their life circumstances and referring them to a support group
or counselor.
The Canadian Women's Health Network. What is women's health?
www.cwhn.ca
Society for Women's Health Research. Women
and Men: 10 Differences that Make a Difference. 14 July 2004.
www.womens-health.org (Link dead as of July 2005; now http://www.womenshealthresearch.org/)
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