Women in Medicine

A couple of female medical and graduate students and I recently (re)establish a branch of the American Medical Women's Association at my medical school. AMWA's goals are to support women in medicine and to improve women's health. This semester our chapter hosted a potluck for the local women's shelter and staffed a table at the National Organization of Women's Sex Out Loud event on campus. I made a poster and prepared trivia questions about women's health; participants won a piece of candy for answering a question (they didn't have to be correct). Want to play along? Answers are below!

1. What is the #1 cause of death among women?

2. What is the most deadly kind of cancer in Hispanic women? In non-Hispanic women?

3. About how many women die from pregnancy-related causes every year?

4. Do sexually active teenagers need a pelvic exam or Pap smear before getting birth control?

5. Hashimoto’s Disease is common among women. What part of the body does it affect?

6. What is the average age of menopause in the United States?

KE (M3), MW, KT, CD (M1s). Photo credit: CD.

1. The #1 cause of death among women is heart disease.

2. The most deadly kind of cancer in Hispanic women is breast cancer? In non-Hispanic women it's lung cancer.

3. About 700 women died from pregnancy-related causes in the year for which we have data (2011). Most of that was due to cardiovascular complications like congestive heart failure and blood clots; eclampsia and sepsis also contributed.

4. No, sexually active teenagers do NOT need a pelvic exam or Pap smear before getting birth control. Teens only need genital exams if they are symptomatic; otherwise everyone with a cervix should get their first Pap smear at 21.

5. Hashimoto’s Disease is common among women; it is a form of autoimmune thyroid disease.

6. The average age of menopause in the United States is 51.