Health Risks Women Fear Most Dr. David J. Demko, gerontologist AgeVenture Syndicated News Service Check any species, and you will find females live longer than males. What you may not know is the difference in health anxiety between men and women may result in a life-expectancy advantage. New research suggests women worry over late-life health risks. Conventional wisdom suggests health anxieties may not be all that bad. Women live longer than men because they are more psychologically hardy. The additional anxiety about health risks may actually improve the survival rate of women. For example, anxiety rather than the typcial male denial of health risks, women may be motivated to take precautions that result in greater life-expectancy. Read on, and find out more. Women's fear of heart disease has almost doubled since 2002, but breast cancer remains the single most feared disease, according to a new survey commissioned by the Society for Women's Health Research. Fear of HIV and AIDS has declined, although AIDS cases in U.S. women increased an estimated 15 percent between 1999 and 2003, compared to a one percent increase in men. The other notable change centers on Alzheimer's disease. Nearly five percent of women fear it most, compared to three percent in 2002. "Women increasingly recognize that heart disease is the biggest health threat they face over the course of their life," Phyllis Greenberger, president and CEO of the Society for Women's Health Research, said. "Through improved research, increased advocacy and better news reporting, women and their health care providers are getting the message that heart disease is the number one killer of women. There are steps women can take to reduce our risk, such as exercise and proper diet, as well as recognize and treat the condition when it develops." Heart disease kills 500,000 American women each year, which is over 50,000 more women than men. It strikes women on average 10 years later than men. Women are more likely than men to have a second heart attack within a year of the first one. Of more than 1,000 adult U.S. women surveyed, 9.7 percent list heart disease, which includes heart attack, hypertension, and other heart-related disease except stroke, as the disease they fear most. That is almost double the 5.3 percent noted in an identical 2002 Society survey. More than twice as many women, 22.1 percent, say they most fear breast cancer, which is virtually unchanged from the previous survey (22.4 percent). All cancer responses combined totaled 57.1 percent. Ovarian cancer (2.7 percent) was the second most feared cancer, followed by lung cancer (2.4 percent). "While the risk of breast cancer should not be diminished," Greenberger said, "women need to know that lung cancer actually kills more, claiming the lives of almost 70,000 American women each year." The Society for Women's Health Research is the nation's only non-profit organization whose mission is to improve the health of all women through research, education and advocacy. The Society encourages the study of sex differences between women and men that affect the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of disease. DISEASES WOMEN FEAR ...2005 ....... 2002 ....... 01. Cancer (unspecified) .......24.0% .......27.5% 02. Breast Cancer .......22.1% .......22.4% 03. Heart Disease .......09.7% .......05.3% 04. Alzheimer's Disease .......04.6% .......02.8% 05. Ovarian Cancer .......02.7% .......03.1% 06. Lung Cancer .......02.4% .......02.3% 07. Diabetes .......02.4% .......02.2% 08. Colon Cancer .......01.6% .......01.8% 09. Stroke .......01.2% .......00.4% Notes: Heart disease includes heart attack, hypertension, other heart-related disease except stroke. All cancer responses combined totaled 57.1 percent in 2005 and 60.4 percent in 2002. LEADING CAUSES OF DEATH IN U.S. WOMEN - 2002* 01. Heart Disease: 28.6% 02. Cancer: 21.6% 03. Stroke: 8.0% 04. Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 5.2% 05. Alzheimer's disease: 3.4% 06. Diabetes: 3.1% 07. Unintentional injuries: 3.0% 08. Influenza and pneumonia: 3.0% 09. Kidney disease: 1.7% 10. Septicemia: 1.5% *U.S. Centers For Disease Control's Office of Women's Healt Fear carries a negative connotation in Western Civilization. However, reality-based fear is the very motivator that drives individuals to embrace preventive health care, lowering the risks to disease, resulting in an increased life-expectancy. When you consider this psychological hardiness, plus the genetic predisposition to longer life, it is no wonder women live longer than their male counterparts. See related articles in AgeVenture archives. AgeVenture Headline News AgeVenture Lifestyle Features AgeVenture News Service, www.demko.com BACK TO TOP