07/6/2010

Study: Women Live Longer, But Not Well

New research shows that while women live longer than their male counterparts, they have a greater chance of mental and physical ailments.

According to the new study, published in the Journal of Women's Health, women have a more than 20 percent greater chance of suffering from bad health in their old age.

Based on a Public Health Agency of Barcelona study of 4,244 people over age 64, 53 percent of women suffered some sort of disability, compared to just 30 percent among men.

The study was based on the surveys of Barcelona residents by the Public Health Agency since 1982.

The prevalence of elderly disability in people aged over age 64 increased among women in between 1992 and 2006, but not among men, due to the increase in female life expectancy.

Researchers told Spain's Scientific Information and News Service that women's double duty contributed to their old age diseases.

"The double burden of work that women experience throughout their lives (domestic work and work outside the home) is a key factor in explaining this difference in different studies," said Albert Espelt, lead author of the study and a researcher at the Public Health Agency of Barcelona.

Espelt said that domestic work in the home can cause more non-fatal disabilities and mental disorders such as depression.