Men suffered more from Covid, heart disease and cancer than women, says Lancet study

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Men have a higher disease burden and die prematurely than women globally though the latter, despite their longer lives, experience many years of poor health. These findings are part of a new analysis by The Lancet Public Health.

WHAT ARE KEY TAKEAWAYS?

A new analysis estimates that in 2021, men suffered more than women from 13 of the top 20 causes of disease burden, including COVID-19, road injuries, and a range of cardiovascular, respiratory and liver diseases. In fact, they were disproportionately affected by these conditions that led to premature death. Globally, women experienced more non-threatening life conditions like musculoskeletal conditions, mental health issues and headache disorders.

The modelling research used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021 to compare the total number of life years lost to illness and premature death — a measurement known as disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) — for the 20 leading causes of disease between 1990 and 2021. Senior author Dr Luisa Sorio Flor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), University of Washington, USA said women had higher levels of illness and disability because they tend to outlive men.

Overall COVID-19 was the leading cause of health loss in 2021, with males experiencing 45 per cent more health loss from COVID-19 than females. Ischaemic heart disease had the second largest absolute difference in health loss between males and females, with the former experiencing 45 per cent more health loss from heart disease compared to the latter.

WHAT ARE THE CO-MORBIDITIES AMONG MEN?

Co-lead author Dr Vedavati Patwardhan from the University of California, San Diego, USA, attributes premature deaths in men to cancer and heart diseases apart from road injuries. While lifestyle-induced co-morbidities among men are not exactly new, she says, "We need national health plans and strategies to address the health needs of men throughout their lives, including interventions targetting behavioural risks such as alcohol use and smoking that typically begin at a young age."

The authors stress that progress on health strategies for men has been slow. Although new initiatives have begun to be rolled out, including the 2018 Strategy on the Health and Well-Being of Men in the WHO European Region, only a few countries (including Australia, Ireland, Iran, Brazil, Malaysia, Mongolia, and South Africa) have designated national-level policies on men's health.

WHAT ABOUT WOMEN?

Women's health issues primarily include low back pain, depression, headaches, anxiety disorders, musculoskeletal conditions, dementia, Alzheimer's disease and HIV/AIDS. These may not lead to premature death but keep them sick throughout their lifetime. For example, for low back pain, DALY rates are more than a third higher for females than for males in 2021 (1,265 vs 787 DALYs per 100,000). Regionally, this gap was most pronounced in South Asia, where rates were over 50 per cent higher in females (1,292 vs 598 DALYs per 100,000).

Mental health conditions disproportionately impact women across the world. For example, the health loss caused by depressive disorders was over a third higher among females than males (1,019 vs 671 DALYs per 100,000) globally in 2021.

STUDY A REALITY CHECK

"The timing is right for this study and call to action — not only because of where the evidence is now, but because COVID-19 has starkly reminded us that sex differences can profoundly impact health outcomes", Dr Luisa said.

First uploaded on: 02-05-2024 at 14:16 IST