OTTAWA - Women who think they have a good idea of how their health issues differ from men's need to think again, because a new study reveals that many women are misinformed or unaware when it comes to their unique health matters.

Three of four women surveyed by Women's College Hospital in Toronto believe they are aware of women's health issues, beyond reproductive ones. When asked about specific diseases and how they relate to women, however, the 2008 X-Effects Health Index shows that women have some homework to do.

Research shows women and men get different diseases and they also get different symptoms of the same disease, the study says, but neither doctors nor their female patients are as aware of that research as they should be.

"There's still a lot of education of women about their bodies and their health that we can do," said Gillian Einstein, a senior scientist at Women's College and a professor at the University of Toronto, who has published a book on gender-based medicine. "What the survey shows is that research has to get to women themselves as well as to practitioners."

Only 54 per cent of women reported talking with their doctors about health issues unique to them as women - beyond reproductive issues - in the last year, and another 54 per cent said they didn't know what questions to bring to their health-care provider.

The survey of 800 women, conducted for the hospital by Leger Marketing with a margin of error of 3.5 per cent, 19 times in 20, tested knowledge about certain health conditions.

It found that half of women believe both men and women are seeing the same rise in the occurrence of Type 2 diabetes when, in fact, women age 20 to 50 are experiencing the biggest rise in the chronic illness.

Only one-third knew that chest pain is not a common symptom of a heart attack for women the way it is for a man. More than 40 per cent of women report fatigue, shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting during a heart attack, not chest pain.

The survey also indicated that 61 per cent of women didn't know they are twice as likely to experience depression. One-third of women mistakenly believe they develop lung cancer at the same rate as men when, in fact, women are 1.5 times more likely than men to get it, and 81 per cent of women don't know that there is a higher rate of non-melanoma skin cancer among women than men.

Einstein said the lack of awareness about gender differences in health brings certain risks.

"I think the consequences can be anywhere from as grave as death to just not feeling healthy," she said.

"At a chronic level, it can lead to just degradation of quality of life and health over time as in the case of diabetes," said Einstein.

The focus for a long time has been on the reproductive differences between men and women and it's time the recognition of unique health issues between the genders is expanded to the whole body, she said.

The study advises women to start a dialogue with their doctors about women's unique health issues and suggests consulting www.womenshealthmatters.ca for a list of questions to ask their physicians.

10 questions women should ask their doctor:

1. I heard that along with cancer, heart disease is a major killer of Canadian women. Should I be doing more to prevent heart disease from happening to me?

2. Is it true that diabetes is a more important risk factor for heart disease for women than men? What is my risk and what can I do to help prevent developing heart disease?

3. As a woman, am I at risk for developing high blood pressure? Should I be tested regularly?

4. Heart attacks and strokes have a lot of common symptoms such as chest pain. But are there any symptoms that are unique to women that I should watch out for?

5. It's a well-known fact that type 2 diabetes is on the rise, but I understand the biggest jumps are being seen in women ages 20 to 50. What are the risk factors for diabetes that affect me and what can I do to reduce my risk?

6. I've heard that diabetes affects women differently than men because of the effect on my hormones, and can actually affect my reproductive health. Can you tell me more about this?

7. Is it true that women are twice as likely as men to be disabled by arthritis? What steps can I take to keep arthritis at bay or manage it properly?

8. I heard that women are twice as likely as men to experience depression. As a woman, what steps can I take to get help?

9. There's a lot of scary information out there about cancer, but one of the facts that scares me most is that the effects of tobacco are far more damaging to women than men. What are some of the steps I can take to help me quit smoking?

10. Is it true that women are the fastest growing group affected by non-melanoma skin cancer? How do I know if I'm at risk?

Source: www.womenshealthmatters.ca

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