Page 52 - Prevention - USA (April 2020)

H E A LTH

the wrong initial diagnosis after a heart the founder and chief scientific officer of
attack and are 25% more likely to be the Laura W. Bush Institute for Women’s
misdiagnosed after a stroke. That’s not Health at Texas Tech University Health
all: One new study from the University Sciences Center. “Take a minute to
of Copenhagen found that women are Google ‘heart disease patients’ and look at
diagnosed an average of four years later the images that pop up,” says Dr. Jenkins.
than men when it comes to more than “You’ll see mostly pictures of men. Then
700 diseases, and two and a half years Google ‘depression,’ and you’ll notice it’s
later in the case of cancer. For women all women. It may not seem like a big
of color, the disparities in care are even deal, but the results of this little test are
greater—despite the fact that black insidious—and reflect and promote an
women are often at higher implicit gender bias in all
risk of developing things of us, including doctors.”
“
like stroke and Alzheimer’s To top it off, women tend
disease. What gives? A LOT OF to have a different style of
Consider the fact that WHAT WE talking about medical symp-
until very recently, medical toms than men do, says
research was done exclu- KNOW IS Dr. Jenkins, and it doesn’t
sively on white men, though STILL BASED mesh well with the amount of
the results were applied to ON STUDIES time the average doctor gets
both men and women of to spend with patients. While
all ethnicities, says Mark L. OF MEN.” men often give docs a succinct
Graber, M.D., the founder list of symptoms, women are
and chief medical officer more likely to build a nar-
of the Society to Improve rative around how they’re feel-
Diagnosis in Medicine. Take ing. As you’re explaining that
the drug zolpidem, the active ingredient you threw your back out while cleaning
in the sleep aid Ambien. It was on the the bathroom because your in-laws were
market for more than 20 years before visiting and your husband wasn’t help-
researchers realized that men metab- ing because he was watching baseball,
olized the drug faster, which meant the average doctor is usually rushed
the dose needed to be cut by half for and has only about seven minutes with
women. “A lot of what we know is still you. “When a woman tells a story and
based on studies of men,” he says. “And her provider interrupts, that makes her
while we now understand that men and feel undervalued and disrespected,” says
women may have different symptoms Dr. Jenkins, “which may discourage her
and responses to medications, clinicians from sharing as much with health care
aren’t taught these differences.” providers—including details that might
While this is changing, biases play a be vital to a diagnosis.” (Lesson for
role too, says Marjorie Jenkins, M.D., women: It’s smart to get to the point!)

50 PREVENTION.COM • AP R I L 2020