Women and men have many of the same health problems, but they can affect women differently. For example, women may have different symptoms of heart disease. Some diseases or conditions are more common in women, such as osteoarthritis, obesity and depression. And some conditions, such as menopause and pregnancy, are unique to women.
Women sometimes neglect their own health and focus instead on their partner's and their children's. Take care of yourself first:
- Plan for pregnancies and see your healthcare provider regularly while you are pregnant
- Have regular mammograms
- Get regular checkups and screenings. Early detection is important for treating breast, cervical, uterine and ovarian cancer.
- FastStats: Women's Health(National Center for Health Statistics) - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/womens_health.htm
- Health Topics(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://womenshealth.gov/topics.cfm
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Staying Healthy at All Ages(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/ab006.cfm
Also available in Spanish http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/sb006.cfm
- For Women of All Ages(American Physical Therapy Association) - http://www.apta.org/AM/Template.cfm?Section=Home&CONTENTID=20450&TEMPLATE=/CM/HTMLDisplay.cfm
- JAMA Patient Page: Women's Health(American Medical Association) - http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/reprint/295/12/1474.pdf
- Test Your Knowledge about Women's Health(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/women/test.htm
- In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) with Donor Eggs Less Successful in Black Women(05/07/2009, Reuters Health) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_83992.html
- Smoking Packs a Tougher Wallop for Women(05/04/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_83766.html
- Lowered HRT Use May Have Cut Heart Attacks(04/24/2009, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_83346.html
- More News on Women's Health http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/alphanews_w.html#womenshealth
- Action Steps for Staying Healthy(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/women/owh/preventworks/action.htm
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General Screenings and Immunizations Guidelines for Women(National Women's Health Information Center) - Links to PDF - http://womenshealth.gov/screeningcharts/general/general.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://www.womenshealth.gov/espanol/tabladeensayos/mujeres/
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Lifetime of Good Health: Your Guide to Staying Healthy(National Women's Health Information Center) - Large PDF file - http://womenshealth.gov/pub/05prevguide.pdf
Also available in Spanish http://womenshealth.gov/espanol/publicaciones/buenasalud.pdf
- Recommended Screenings and Immunizations for Women with High Risk Factors(National Women's Health Information Center) - Links to PDF - http://womenshealth.gov/screeningcharts/highrisk/highrisk.pdf
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Women: Stay Healthy at 50+(Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality) - http://www.ahrq.gov/ppip/women50.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.ahrq.gov/consumer/women50sp.htm
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Alcohol: A Women's Health Issue
(National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) - http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/brochurewomen/women.htm
Also available in Spanish http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/WomenSpanish/Women_Spanish.pdf - Belly Fat in Women: How to Keep It Off(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/belly-fat/WO00128/METHOD=print
- Environment and Women's Health(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://womenshealth.gov/faq/environment-womens-health.cfm
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Female Genital Cutting
(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://womenshealth.gov/faq/female-genital-cutting-EASY.cfm
- Female Genital Cutting(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://womenshealth.gov/faq/female-genital-cutting.cfm
- WISEWOMAN: Frequently Asked Questions(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/wisewoman/faqs.htm
- Women's Health: Preventing Your Top 10 Threats(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/womens-health/WO00014/METHOD=print
- Body Image: Are You Imagining the Wrong Body?(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://womenshealth.gov/editor/archive/jan05/jan05.htm
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Celebrate the Beauty of Youth(National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases) - http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/celebrate.htm
- Does Sex Make a Difference?(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2005/405_sex.html
- Girlfriends' Health and Safety Tips(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/women/girlfriends/
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ClinicalTrials.gov: Women's Health(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/condition=%22Women's+Health%22
- Women's Participation in Clinical Trials(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/womens/trials.html
- Study Better Defines Risks of Smoking, Benefits of Quitting for Women(American Cancer Society) - http://www.cancer.org/docroot/NWS/content/NWS_1_1x_Study_Better_Defines_Risks_of_Smoking_Benefits_of_Quitting_for_Women.asp
- Women on "Prudent" Dietary Pattern May Reduce Risk of Death(American Heart Association) - http://americanheart.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=447
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Women's Health Initiative(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/whi/
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Women's Health Research at the NICHD(National Institute of Child Health and Human Development) - http://www.nichd.nih.gov/womenshealth/
References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)
- Article: Hormone therapy. An update on risks and benefits. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19405167&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Gender inequality and fire-related deaths in India. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19362659&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Management of abnormal pap smear--consensus guidelines of the National Cervical... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=19338211&tool=MedlinePlus
- Women's Health -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=women's+health[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetk[text]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Female circumcision -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=circumcision,female[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- ACOG's Physician Directory(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - http://www.acog.org/member-lookup/disclaimer.cfm
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists - http://www.acog.org/
- Food and Drug Administration, Office of Women's Health - http://www.fda.gov/womens/
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National Institutes of Health, Office of Research on Women's Health - http://orwh.od.nih.gov/
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National Women's Health Information Center(Dept. of Health and Human Services) - http://womenshealth.gov/
Also available in Spanish http://womenshealth.gov/espanol/
- Social Security and Today's Woman(Social Security Administration) - http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10127.html
- FastStats: Women's Health(National Center for Health Statistics) - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/womens_health.htm
- Heart Disease and Stroke Maps(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/giscvh2/
- Leading Causes of Death in Females United States, 2004(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) - http://www.cdc.gov/women/lcod.htm
- Quick Health Data Online(Dept. of Health and Human Services, Office on Women's Health) - http://www.healthstatus2010.com/owh/
- Trends in Health Status and Health Care Use among Older Women(National Center for Health Statistics) - Links to PDF - http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/ahcd/agingtrends/07olderwomen.pdf
- Women's Health USA 2007(Dept. of Health and Human Services) - http://mchb.hrsa.gov/whusa_07/
- Healthy Aging(National Women's Health Information Center) - http://www.womenshealth.gov/aging/
- Healthy Lifestyle for Women 65 and Older(American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) - http://www.acog.org/publications/patient_education/ab019.cfm
- Breast Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/breastdiseases.html
- Menopause - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/menopause.html
- Pregnancy - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/pregnancy.html
- Reproductive Health - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/reproductivehealth.html
- Uterine Diseases - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/uterinediseases.html
- Population Groups - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/populationgroups.html
- Women - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/women.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Women's Health is the NIH Office of Research on Women's Health - http://www4.od.nih.gov/orwh/
Women's Health - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/womenshealth.html