Chronic Illnesses: A European Perspective

Chronic illnesses, a worldwide burden, concern not only the affected individuals but also their caregivers, 80% of them are women. In this paper gender-specific aspects of chronic illnesses are discussed especially from a European perspective. Epidemiological and symptomatologic differences as well as associated psychological factors are pointed out. Older persons respectively aged women have an increased risk for developing dementia, especially Alzheimer¿s disease. The most conspicuous discrepancy is demonstrated for rheumatism, women comprise 70% of the recorded cases. Concerning coronary heart diseases women¿s symptoms are more subtler than men¿s. Some studies maintain that the psychological aspects of osteoporosis, especially anxiety and depression, strike women harder than men. Facing these aspects quality of life (subjective state of well-being vs. objective medical parameters) and psychological interventions are figured out to be very important in chronic illnesses.