New York Post, Tuesday, August 6, 2019
nypost.com
A NEW
SCRIPT
men with similar body
shapes. The AHA is cur-
rently leading four new
studies into women’s heart
health.
Brain health is another
area in which science is
starting to play catch up. It
was once thought that
women were twice as likely
to be diagnosed with Alz-
heimer’s disease because
they lived longer. But at the
Alzheimer’s Association In-
ternational Conference held
in LA in July, researchers
identified a number of sex-
specific differences in the
progression and treatment
of the disease. For instance,
the toxic protein known as
tau that’s associated with
cognitive decline seems to
spread more rapidly in fe-
male brains.
“A growing body of re-
search shows us that Alzhei-
mer’s disease differs be-
tween women and men,”
says Miller, whose organiza-
tion has called for studying
the influence of estrogen
and other hormones on
brain function. This, Miller
says, bodes well for more
than Alzheimer’s research.
According to the Diag-
nostic and Statistical Man-
ual of Mental Disorders, up
until 1987, a doctor could
label someone “schizo-phrenic” only if the onset
occurred before age 45.
But numerous studies
over the past two decades
have found that there is a
second peak of schizophre-
nia onset in women around
ages 40 to 50. And because
women experience a major
drop in estrogen levels dur-
ing those years, research-
ers now believe that estro-
gen may have an effect on
psychosis in women,
known now as the “estro-
gen hypothesis.”
Now, there is a spate of
ongoing studies looking into
this theory, as well as others
that could improve women’s
health. And the medical
community is finally waking
up to disparities at the doc-
tor’s office, including how
pain is managed.
“There’s growing evi-
dence that when men go to
an ER with pain, they are
believed and treated,” says
Miller. “Women are asked,
‘Does it really hurt?’
Women don’t want to ad-
mit to their doctor they
have pain for fear of being
told ‘it’s all in their head.’ ”
For Haber, having a doc-
tor take her concerns seri-
ously was vital.
“By simply listening and
asking questions,” she says,
“Dr. Goldberg saved my
life.”
[email protected]Stefano GIovannini
When Edna Haber (right) began having dizzy spells, her
cardiologist Nieca Goldberg began monitoring her heart rate
— a response that may have saved her life.Women racing against their biological clocks say
freezing their eggs helped them ditch
noncommittal losers — and find Mr. Right
Chirag Patel
met Saya Nagori
three months after
she had frozen her
eggs, which helped
her avoid settling for
less. The two wed
last summer.Dana J. Ardell PhotographyFrom WOMEN on Page 29