Health status of the Italian people: gender inequalities. Commentary

Differences between male and female affect diseases onset, evolution and prognosis. In terms of survival, women have a higher life expectancy at birth than men, with strong differences at regional level (the highest values in Trento AP and the lowest in Campania). Smoking, alcohol consumption, overweight and obesity and physical activities indicators are analyzed among men and woman. A reduction in smokers and number of smoked cigarettes is observed, especially among men. Men also show a higher number of ex-smokers than woman. Also for alcohol consumption, the prevalence of consumers at risk is higher among men than women. Overweight and obesity are more prevalent among men than women, the same as physical activity played continuously and occasionally. Gender differences are also shown in hospitalization rate and mortality rate for ischemic heart disease, affecting men twice more than women. The analysis shows a good health status condition of Italian people, but it is important to be aware that gender is one of essential characteristics in health care field, independently of people age.