Some diseases exhibit affinity towards the fairer sex.

Dissimilar anatomy, different set of hormones, slightly diverse lifestyle; reasons could be several for women being prone to some particular diseases.

Have a look at few.

Osteoporosis

Osteoporosis is a condition commonly seen in post menopausal women with progressive loss of bone density, which leads to brittle bones, prone to fractures. Estrogen plays an important role in maintaining bone density. After menopause when estrogen levels drop, bone loss speed up.

Post menopause, annually women should get bone density tested through a DEXA scan.

Breast Cancer

It’s one of the commonest cancers seen among women across the globe. Approximately 1 in 30 urban Indian women suffer from breast cancer. Risk factors could range from family history (only in 5-10% of cases), late first pregnancy, not breast feeding the baby, early onset and late finishing (menopause) of periods and others. Lifestyle related risk factors can be high fat diet, obesity, stress and excessive alcohol consumption.

All women should do a breast self exam every month. Post 30, annually they should get a clinical breast exam done by a doctor. After 40 a sono-mammogram every year and after 50 a mammography once in 2 years is recommended.

Cervical Cancer

Cancer of the cervix (mouth of uterus) is another type of common gynecological cancer. It is often caused by infection due to HPV (human papillomavirus).Cervical cancer develops over a long period of time from abnormal precancerous cells on the surface of the cervix giving enough time for early detection, which can result in effective treatment from the disease.

Women, who are sexually active, should go for annual Pap smear test - a simple procedure where a sample from cervical tissue is taken and sent to laboratory for testing. The cells are examined and looked for precancerous or cancer cells.

Gall Stones

Obese and overweight people are more likely to develop gallstones and hence genetically because women tend to have higher body fat percentages and lead less physically active lives than men, they are at higher risk for gallstones.

An annual abdominal ultrasound is recommended.

UTIs

Urinary tract infections are common in women as they have a shorter urethra (passage from urinary bladder to outer urinary opening) than men. Being smaller in size, the distance is cut short and bacteria have to travel less to reach a woman’s bladder.

Maintaining good personal hygiene down there helps!

Women face many physical changes that lead to some physical problems such as osteoporosis, breast cancer, cervical cancer, gallstones and so on which they need to look out. Breast cancer has been a serious problem around the world, and it is one of the common diseases among women.