Wimen wi the same health conditions as men ‘less likely tae be offered active treatment’

Wimen wi the same medical condition as men are less likely tae be offered treatment sic as surgery, a stent or a strang painkiller, research has fand. A review o global research fand that for several health problems, includin cardiovascular conditions, kidney disease and Parkinson’s, wimen were less likely tae receive the same treatment as men, revealin the extent tae which wimen hae significantly unequal care.

Researchers at the University o St Andrews analysed 38 studies and fand that in 33 o them wimen were less likely tae be offered active treatment. Wimen wi myocardial infarction, hairt failure or an irregular hairt beat were mair likely tae be gien medication, whereas men were mair likely tae receive a coronary bypass, stent or ither surgical treatment. Wimen were also less likely tae be prescribed statins, accordin tae the analysis, which was published in the journal Plos One.

Men wi Parkinson’s were mair likely tae be referred for deep brain stimulation, while thae wi liver failure were mair likely tae receive a transplant than wimen. Female kidney patients requirin dialysis were less likely tae be gien permanent access and had tae spend langer usin a catheter. And wimen were also less likely tae be gien opioids for pain management.

For stroke and diabetes, houever, there was nae significant difference atween the sexes in treatment. And wimen were mair likely tae be treated for dementia.

The findinins come amang growin concern aboot the gender health gap. In Mairch, the then health secretary, Wes Streetin, said wimen were bein let doun by medical misogyny. The previous Conservative govrenment appointit Lesley Regan as England’s first wimen’s health ambassador, tae help tackle the gender gap.

The analysis concludit the discrepancy was nae a result o the need for different clinical approaches tae wimen’s health. It fand that nane o the studies identifyit ony guideline recommendin different treatment by sex, raisin the question o whether unequal care was a factor.

Dr Andrew O’Malley, wha co-led the study, said: For clinicians, the findinins are a prompt tae check whether treatment is bein offered on clinical grounds rather than assumption.

He said studies shawed doctors mair aften attributit wimen’s symptoms tae anxiety and made mair diagnostic errors wi female patients, even when test results were positive.

Dr Miriam Veenhuizen, an honorary lecturer in the School o Medicine at St Andrews, said: While the direction o the findinins was nae a surprise, the consistency was. The same pattern appeart in cardiology, surgery, transplant medicine and emergency care, and it survivit statistical adjustment in maist studies.