By Sean Zucker –
There are countless things women are better at than men. Flexibility, pain tolerance, emotional intelligence and general displays of empathy are just a few that come to mind when contemplating the female gender’s superiority. Now, medical expertise may soon be added to that seemingly never-ending list.
A recent University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) study found that people treated by female doctors tend to live longer than those visiting male doctors. Specifically, researchers examined a randomized 20 percent sample of Medicare beneficiaries hospitalized with medical conditions from 2016 to 2019. The data included claims from more than 450,000 female patients and nearly 320,00 male patients. Around 31 percent of all patients, male and female, were treated by a female doctor.
Ultimately, the UCLA team found that female patients had a mortality rate of 8.15 percent under female doctors and 8.38 percent rate under male physicians. While this appears slight, the researchers considered it clinically significant. Among male patients, mortality rates were similarly split with 10.15 percent for those with female doctors and 10.23 percent with male doctors.
“What our findings indicate is that female and male physicians practice medicine differently, and these differences have a meaningful impact on patients’ health outcomes,” Dr. Yusuke Tsugawa, the study’s senior author, reported. “Further research on the underlying mechanisms linking physician gender with patient outcomes, and why the benefit of receiving the treatment from female physicians is larger for female patients, has the potential to improve patient outcomes across the board.”
The study suggests a few reasons behind the differences. One possibility is that female doctors may communicate better with their female patients. This, in turn, would increase the likelihood that patients offer more extensive information crucially leading to better diagnoses and treatment. The team also speculated that female patients may be more comfortable receiving sensitive examinations and engaging in more detailed conversations with female physicians.
“It is important to note that female physicians provide high-quality care, and therefore, having more female physicians benefits patients from a societal point-of-view,” Tsugawa added.
Of course, there is always some good old-fashioned sexism at play as well. The UCLA researchers claim that male doctors may underestimate the seriousness of illnesses in their female patients. They cited previous research that has observed male doctors’ tendency to underestimate pain levels, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular symptoms and stroke risk in female patients. The combined or individual impact of underestimating the issues can result in delayed or inadequate treatment.
“A better understanding of this topic could lead to the development of interventions that effectively improve patient care,” Tsugawa said.
Naturally, more research is still needed. But, based on these findings, here’s to hoping it’s led by women.
