THE GENDER HEALTH GAP
Dream it
Dream it
Dream it Dream it
1.8 Billion people menstruate.
1.8 Billion people menstruate.
1.4 Billion have menstrual pain.
1.4 Billion have menstrual pain.
20-30% suffer pain so severely they skip school, work, sports and social activities.
20-30% suffer pain so severely they skip school, work, sports and social activities.
WHEN MENSTRUATING PEOPLE DO SPEAK UP ABOUT THEIR PAIN, IT’S OFTEN MET WITH INDIFFERENCE. THEIR PAIN NORMALIZED AND NOT TAKEN SERIOUSLY.
A PROBLEM PERPETUATED BY STIGMA AND SILENCE.
This indifference manifests itself in understudying female physiology in medical research, treatment and drug development. Women and the use of female cells were not included in clinical trials until 1993.
To date, much of female physiology remains understudied and unknown. In recent years, there have been initiatives to include women in research, but the gap remains. That is why, despite high prevalence, innovation and treatment options in women’s health are lagging.
THE ECONOMIC LOSS PER YEAR IN THE US ALONE:
600,000,000
WORKING HOURS
2,000,000,000
IN US DOLLARS
A GLOOMY REAL PICTURE
In the United States, it is estimated that 10-30% of all working or studying women with dysmenorrhea lose between 1 to 2 working days per month. At the healthiest years of life menstruating people suffer from a chronic pain syndrome where no cure and only limited treatment options exist.
Depending on the underlying condition causing period pain, infertility may also be a consequence, compounding the emotional and physical toll with the unfulfilled desire for a child. Therefore, improving care for affected women should be a major public health priority.