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The Impact of Gender and Age on Cardiovascular Health in Germany

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Book cover Gender, Health and Ageing

Abstract

When women in Germany are asked what they regard to be their greatest personal health risk, over two-thirds report that breast cancer is the disease they fear the most. According to a survey conducted by a German health insurance fund, only 25% of women cite cardiovascular disease in this context (Deutsche Angestellten Krankenkasse DAK, 2002). However, according to information from the German Federal Statistical Office, a total of 17,173 women died in Germany from mammary carcinoma in the year 2003, compared to 29,550 women who died from acute myocardial infarction (Figure 1). Why is the risk of cardiovascular events so drastically underestimated by women themselves, as well as by those around them?

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ZHGB, Institute for Medical Psychology, Charité-Universitätsmedizin, Luisenstraße 57, 10117, Berlin

    Friederike Kendel Dipl.-Psych.

  2. Psychologisches Institut, Ruprecht-Karls-Universitaet Heidelberg, Hauptstr. 47-51, 69117, Heidelberg, Germany

    Monika Sieverding Prof. Dr. phil.

Authors
  1. Friederike Kendel Dipl.-Psych.
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  2. Monika Sieverding Prof. Dr. phil.
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Gertrud M. Backes Vera Lasch Katja Reimann

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© 2006 VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften | GWV Fachverlage GmbH, Wiesbaden

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Kendel, F., Sieverding, M. (2006). The Impact of Gender and Age on Cardiovascular Health in Germany. In: Backes, G.M., Lasch, V., Reimann, K. (eds) Gender, Health and Ageing. VS Verlag für Sozialwissenschaften. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-531-90355-2_5

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