Common chronic diseases in women compared to men

Organization: Public Health Agency of Canada

Type: Infographic

Date published: 2021-12-21

ISBN: 978-0-660-40708-1

Cat: HP35-151/2-2021E-PDF

Pub.: 210406

Chronic disease incidence among Canadians aged 65 years and older

Compared to men the same age, women aged 65+ are more likely to be newly diagnosed with these chronic diseases:

A number of factors may influence the differences in chronic diseases newly diagnosed in women and men. Age also plays an important role since these differences evolve with older age.^{Footnote 1},^{Footnote 2} In general, these factors include:

• Biological and physical differences between women and men
• Lifestyle behaviours such as physical activity (e.g. being physically inactive), diet (e.g. unhealthy food choices), smoking and alcohol use
• Socio-economic factors (e.g. differences in education or income)
• Presence of more than one chronic disease or condition
• Longer life expectancy. This impacts women specifically. Women tend to live longer than men which may increase the chance of being diagnosed with certain chronic diseases, such as dementia.

The impact of chronic diseases and conditions can be reduced through policies and programs that:

• Support healthy behaviours and choices such as exercise or healthy eating
• Create age-friendly, safe and supportive social environments
• Reduce health differences due to race, gender, education, income and other socio-economic factors

Learn more about chronic diseases and aging in Canada:

To learn more about chronic disease and aging, visit: Aging and Chronic Diseases: A Profile of Canadian seniors.

Chronic diseases share common risk factors. Learn more: Chronic Disease Risk Factors.

Explore the latest data: Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System-Public Health Infobase