Breaking the Silence on Women's Health | Ann-Marie de Lange | TEDxZurichWomen
TEDx Talks・2 minutes read
Women historically faced the label of hysteria for various medical issues due to exclusion from research trials, leading to gaps in understanding female biology and health needs, including the unique influences of hormones on the brain and disparities in conditions like heart attacks. Initiatives like gender medicine and increased public awareness are slowly advancing women's health research to improve outcomes through collaboration among healthcare providers, patients, clinicians, and scientists.
Insights
- Women faced the diagnosis of hysteria in the 19th century for medical complaints like anxiety and sexual desire, reflecting historical gender biases in medicine and the lack of understanding of women's health concerns.
- Research gaps in women's health, particularly in neuroimaging and heart attacks, have led to inadequate treatment and outcomes due to the exclusion of women from clinical trials, emphasizing the critical need for more inclusive and gender-specific research to address these disparities.
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Recent questions
What is the historical diagnosis for women's medical complaints?
Hysteria
When were women excluded from clinical research trials?
1977
What percentage of brain studies focus on female-specific health?
Less than 1%
What condition can lead to inadequate treatment due to gender differences?
Heart attacks
What initiatives are advancing women's health research?
Gender medicine
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Summary
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Women's Health Research: Addressing Historical Gaps
- In the 19th century, women often faced the diagnosis of hysteria for various medical complaints such as anxiety, shortness of breath, chronic pain, fainting, and even showing sexual desire, with the term originating from the Greek word "hystera," meaning uterus.
- Women have historically been underserved in medical sciences, with a significant exclusion from clinical research trials in 1977 due to concerns about potential harm to unborn babies, leading to a lack of understanding of how biology, illness, and treatment may differ between women and men.
- Research in neuroimaging and brain health has shown that less than 1% of around 43,000 studies on the human brain focus on female-specific health, highlighting the unique biology and hormonal influences on the female brain across the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause.
- Women's health research gaps extend beyond neuroscience, impacting life-threatening conditions like heart attacks, where differences in progression and symptoms between women and men can lead to inadequate treatment, emphasizing the need for more inclusive research.
- Progress in women's health research is slowly advancing, with initiatives like gender medicine gaining recognition and funding, alongside increased public awareness and campaigns addressing menopause treatment shortages, encouraging collaboration between healthcare providers, patients, clinicians, and scientists to improve women's health outcomes.
