Women's Health
Infancy and childhood (0-9 years)
Mortality and causes of death are very similar for boys and girls during infancy and childhood. Preterm birth, birth asphyxia, and infection are the leading causes of death in the first month of life. The first month of life is the stage of life with the highest risk of death.
In the first five years of life, pneumonia, preterm birth, birth asphyxia, and diarrhea are the leading causes of death. Malnutrition is a significant factor in 45% of deaths in children under the age of 5.
Teenage girls (10-19 years old)
Mental Health and Injuries
Self-inflicted injuries, road traffic injuries, and drowning are among the leading causes of death for adolescent girls worldwide.
Depression and (15-19 year old) schizophrenia are among the leading causes of poor health.
HIV/AIDS
In 2011, about 820,000 women and men aged 15-24 were newly infected with HIV in low- and middle-income countries; more than 60% of these were women.
Worldwide, adolescent girls and young women (aged 15-24) are twice as likely to be at risk of HIV infection as boys and young men of the same age group. This higher risk of HIV is associated with unsafe and often unwanted and forced sexual activity.
teenage pregnancy
Early pregnancy and early childbearing increase the risk for mothers and their newborns. Despite progress in reducing adolescent birth rates, more than 15 million of the world's 135 million live births are among girls aged 15-19.
Teen pregnancies are more prone to unsafe abortions than adults. An estimated 3 million unsafe abortions are performed globally each year among adolescent girls aged 15-19. Unsafe abortions are largely responsible for long-term health problems and maternal mortality. Complications from pregnancy and childbirth are a significant cause of death among adolescent girls aged 15-19 in low- and middle-income countries.
Substance use
It is increasingly common for adolescent girls to smoke and drink alcohol, which can put their health at risk, especially later in life. In some places, girls smoke and drink almost as much as boys. For example, in the WHO Region of the Americas, 23% of boys and 21% of girls in the 13-15 age group reported having used tobacco in the past month.
Nutrition
In 21 of the 41 countries with data, more than one-third of girls aged 15-19 are anaemic. The most common form of anemia is iron-deficiency anemia, which increases the risk of bleeding and sepsis during childbirth, causes cognitive and physical deficits in young children, and reduces productivity in adults. Women and girls are most at risk of developing anemia due to insufficient dietary iron, menstrual blood loss, and rapid growth.
Reproductive age (15-44 years) and adult women (20-59 years)
HIV/AIDS
HIV/AIDS is the leading cause of death for women aged 15-44 worldwide, and unsafe sex is a major risk factor in developing countries. Biological factors, lack of access to information and health care services, economic vulnerability, and unequal power in sexual relationships make women, especially young women, vulnerable to HIV infection.
Maternal Hygiene
Maternal deaths are the second leading killer of women of reproductive age. About 287,000 women lose their lives each year due to complications of pregnancy and childbirth, 99% of which occur in developing countries.
Despite the increase in contraceptive use over the past 30 years, many women in all regions still do not have access to modern contraceptive methods. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, one in four women who wish to delay or stop childbearing does not use any method of family planning.
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, often associated with HIV infection, is the fifth leading cause of death among women of childbearing age in low-income countries and among adult women aged 20-59.
harm
Self-inflicted injuries and road traffic injuries are among the top 10 causes of death for adult women (20-59 years) globally. In the WHO South-East Asia Region, burns are a leading cause of death among women aged 15-44. Women are far more likely to be injured and killed by fires than men due to cooking accidents or violence from intimate partners and families.
cervical cancer
Cervical cancer is the second most common type of cancer in women worldwide, and nearly all cases are associated with sexually transmitted genital tract infection of human papillomavirus. Due to poor access to screening and treatment services, more than 90% of deaths occur among women in low- and middle-income countries.
Violence
Violence against women is widespread around the world. Recent data show that 35% of women worldwide have experienced intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence in their lifetime. On average, 30% of women in relationships have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence by their partner.
Globally, a whopping 38% of murders of women are committed by an intimate partner.
Women who were physically or sexually abused had higher rates of poor mental health, unwanted pregnancies, abortions and miscarriages than women who were not abused. Women who experience partner violence are twice as likely to be depressed, nearly twice as likely to develop an alcohol use disorder, and half as likely to develop HIV or other sexually transmitted infections. Of these, 42% of women suffered injuries as a result. Sexual violence is also increasingly used as a tactic of warfare in many conflicts.
Depression and suicide
Women are more prone to depression and anxiety than men. Depression is the leading cause of disease burden among women in high-income and low- and middle-income countries. Postpartum depression affects 20% of mothers in low- and lower-middle-income countries, a higher figure than previously published reports from high-income countries.
An estimated 800,000 people worldwide die by suicide every year, mostly men. There are exceptions, however, such as in rural China, where suicide rates for women are higher than for men. Suicide attempts are 20 times as many as suicides, are generally more common in women than men, and contribute to an unrecognized burden of disability. At the same time, suicide attempts are an important risk factor for suicide-related death and demonstrate the need for adequate health services for this population.
disabled
Disability affects 15% of the world's population, with more women than men. Women with disabilities have worse health outcomes, lower academic performance, less economic participation, and higher rates of poverty than women without disabilities. Adult women with disabilities are at least 1.5 times more likely to be victims of violence than women without disabilities.
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
Tobacco use and the burning of solid fuels for cooking are major risk factors for COPD, a life-threatening lung disease in women. Exposure to indoor smoke from cooking on open flames or inefficient stoves accounts for one-third of all COPD deaths and disease burden in women.
Older women (60 years and older)
Globally, there are slightly more men than women, but because women tend to live longer than men, they make up a higher proportion of older adults: 54% of people aged 60 and over are women, and at 75 and 75 This rises to nearly 60% for those over the age of 90 and to 70% for those aged 90 and over.
non-communicable diseases
In particular, non-communicable diseases such as cardiovascular disease and cancer are the largest cause of death among older women, regardless of the level of economic development of their country. Cardiovascular disease accounts for 46% of deaths in older women globally, and another 14% is caused by cancer, primarily lung, breast, colon and stomach cancers. Chronic respiratory disease (primarily COPD) kills another 9% of older women.
Many of the health problems older women face are due to exposure to risk factors during adolescence and adulthood, such as smoking, sedentary lifestyles, and unhealthy diets.
disabled
Other health problems older women experience that can reduce their physical and cognitive function include vision loss (including cataracts), hearing loss, arthritis, depression, and Alzheimer's disease. Although men also suffer from these conditions, women in many countries are less likely than men to receive treatment or support.
Older women experience more disabilities than men, reflecting broader determinants of health such as:
- Inequalities in norms and policies disadvantage women;
- changes in family structure;
- Higher rates of participation in unpaid or informal sector work.
Combined, these factors increase vulnerability and reduce access to needed and effective health services.
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