Excerpt

Women's and men's health differ in a variety of ways. Women have greater longevity than men, but during their lifespan women experience more morbidity. Scientists have investigated explanations for these differences, pursuing explorations of biological differences, such as those linked to the X chromosome and those modulated by sex steroids (e.g., immune response). Other scholars have studied the differential socialization of girls and boys with respect to risk-taking behavior, sophistication about health and health-seeking behavior, and the social roles women and men play in their occupations and in their homes. Still others have examined sources of stress in women's and men's lives that might account for differences in health and disease patterns. The most likely explanations accounting for women's and men's different health experiences are complex and multivariate and may include differences in each gender's unique susceptibility to factors in their environments.

Recognizing the complexity of the topic, the Committee on Gender Differences in Susceptibility to Environmental Factors undertook the study within a framework that incorporated distinctions between sex and gender and defined environment in its broadest sense—inclusive of physical, biological, social, and cultural dimensions.

Contents

• Committee on Gender Differences in Susceptibility to Environmental Factors
• Preface and Acknowledgments
• Executive Summary
• Workshop Report
  • ORGANIZING MEETING
  • WORKSHOP
  • SUMMARY OF DISCUSSIONS FROM THE WORKSHOP
  • PRIORITY ASSESSMENT: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
  • RECOMMENDATIONS
  • CLOSING REMARKS
• APPENDIXES
  • A Analysis of Agency Research Portfolios
  • B Summary of Workshop Presentations
  • C Acronyms, Abbreviations, and Glossary
  • D Workshop Agenda, Speakers, and Participants
  • E Biographies of Workshop Speakers
  • F References and Suggested Reading
  • G Committee Biographies

Support for this project was provided by the Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Research on Women's Health (Award No. N01-OD-4-2139), with contributions from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, NIH, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Office of Women's Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Office of Research and Development, Environmental Protection Agency.

The views presented in this report are those of the Committee on Gender Differences and are not necessarily those of the funding organizations.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.