Women Live Longer Than Men... But Suffer More Pain

National Institute of Health Research Women's Health Statistics
Young Women Show Higher Rates of Stress and Depressive Disorders

Women live longer than men, but they are more vulnerable to various diseases such as osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, cancer, and chronic illnesses. Among young women, the rates of stress and depressive disorders were higher.

On the afternoon of the 24th, the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency's National Institute of Health announced the "5th Women's Health Statistics" at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul.

(This photo is not directly related to the article.) [Photo source=Pixabay]

This is a comprehensive analysis of the overall health status and major issues of Korean women, based on research conducted by the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs. It analyzed trends over the past 10 years in various areas such as health levels across women's life cycles, chronic diseases, and mental health.

According to "Women's Health Issues in Numbers," presented by Eunja Park, a research fellow at the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs, the life expectancy of women was 86.6 years, about 6 years longer than men at 80.6 years. However, based on the 2019?2021 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, only 30.9% of women rated their current health status as good, which is 6.1 percentage points lower than men (37.0%).

The prevalence of osteoarthritis was 10.3% in women and 3.8% in men, while the prevalence of osteoporosis was 7.1% in women, which is 10 times higher than 0.7% in men.

Women had higher rates than men in perceived stress, prevalence of depressive disorders, and thoughts of extreme self-harm. In particular, during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the prevalence of depressive disorders among young women aged 25?34 was 11.9%, about three times higher than the 4.4% prevalence among middle-aged women aged 45?64.

Professor Yumi Kim of Hanyang University College of Medicine said, "It is easy to think that people die earlier because they are unhealthy, but the 'gender paradox' phenomenon, where women live longer but are less healthy, consistently appears in many countries and societies."

Factors influencing this include ▲ prevalence of chronic diseases ▲ impact of socioeconomic status ▲ socio-structural causes ▲ sociocultural contexts such as healthcare system utilization rates ▲ and gender differences in resilience.

(This photo is not directly related to the article.) [Photo source=Pixabay]

The gap in physical activity, which is essential for health management, also remains unchanged. The rate of strength training among adult women was 16.4%, about half that of men (32.7%), and the rate of aerobic exercise was about 87% of that of men.

Obesity rates among women increased with age. Among those aged 65 and older, the rate was 37.5%, indicating that one in three elderly women was obese. Among adult women, obesity rates were higher among those with lower education levels and household income.

The obesity rate among female adolescents increased from 3.5% in 2010 to 8.5% in 2022. As of 2022, the obesity rate among female adolescents was 6.5% in the first year of middle school but reached 12.1% in the third year of high school. Regarding income levels, the obesity rate among female adolescents in the "low" income group was 16.2%, more than twice that of the "high" income group at 6.4%.

Since its inception in 2014, the Women's Health Statistics have been published biennially until 2020 and every three years thereafter. The National Institute of Health emphasized the need for strategic development going forward.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.