gender

En un parque nacional del norte de la India, una investigación ha revelado que hay hombres que usan las tecnologías de vigilancia de la fauna para observar a mujeres sin su consentimiento e intimidarlas. El estudio, realizado por la Universidad de Cambridge (Reino Unido), describe cómo individuos de pueblos cercanos al bosque y de gobiernos locales hacen un mal uso de cámaras, grabadoras de sonido y drones, originalmente destinados a vigilar áreas protegidas con fines de conservación de animales. Esas tecnologías “son fácilmente captadas para fines ajenos a la conservación que refuerzan normas patriarcales y propagan la violencia estructural de género”, denuncia la investigación, que se publica en Environment and Planning F. 

In pre-Hispanic Andean societies, the gender of individuals and the political organisation of the region where they lived had a major impact on the physical violence they experienced, says a study published in PNAS. Living in a state ‘drastically’ reduced the likelihood of lethal violence for women, but not for men. The study analysed archaeological data from more than 8,600 adults collected in 169 studies and dating from 155 sites.

Men and women could develop Alzheimer’s disease through different mechanisms. Understanding these differences is essential to design specific interventions and to treat the disease effectively. In an article published in Alzheimer’s and Dementia: The Journal of the Alzheimer’s Association, a group of researchers, including myself, have highlighted the urgency of adding a sex and gender approach to the studies on this pathology.

24% of girls aged 15 to 19 who have been in a relationship have experienced physical or sexual violence by a male partner at some point in their lives, according to a global study with data from 161 countries between 2000 and 2018. Spain is in the group with the lowest prevalence (12% over their lifetime; 4% in the previous year), according to 2015 data. There is less violence against girls in countries with higher incomes, higher rates of girls in secondary education, and greater gender equality in inheritance laws, says the study published in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health. 

Both sex and gender are associated with distinct networks in the brains of boys and girls, according to an analysis of brain images of 4,757 children in the US. Understanding these neurobiological patterns is important for identifying how sex and gender influence health and for developing specific diagnostic tools, the research team writes in Science Advances.

A US study has found that patients treated by female physicians have lower rates of mortality and hospital readmission than those treated by male physicians. The study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine and involving more than 700,000 patients over the age of 65, found that the effects were even greater when female patients were treated by female physicians.

Sexual harassment on public transport affects the health and well-being of women around the world, according to a study by the University of Valencia. These events cause them to change their behaviour - for example, they travel accompanied, avoid certain places and stations or certain times of the day - as explained by the research, which analyses almost 30 previous studies carried out on several continents. The authors, whose study is published in PLoS ONE, highlight the contrast between "high government awareness of the problem and the paucity of measures to improve women's safety on transport". In addition, they propose including women in transport decision-making.

Intimate partner violence is associated with an increased risk of depression and miscarriage, according to a systematic review of the scientific literature published since 1970. Sexual abuse in childhood is associated with an increased risk of alcohol use disorder and self-harm, says the study published in Nature Medicine. According to its authors, this analysis of 229 previous studies reveals that intimate partner violence and childhood sexual abuse have a more extensive impact on health than previously described.

A Canadian study has examined whether there is a link between occupation and risk of ovarian cancer. After analysing data from nearly 500 women diagnosed with the disease and nearly 900 controls, they found that working for more than ten years in professions such as hairdressing or beauticians triples the risk of ovarian cancer. The risk also increases in occupations such as accountants or those related to the textile industry. The results are published in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine.

The use of hormonal replacement therapy (HRT) for menopause is associated with the development of dementia and Alzheimer's disease, even for short prescriptions before the age of 55, according to an analysis of data from the Danish national registry published in The BMJ. The research - which observes associations and cannot determine causality - also shows that the use of progesterone alone and vaginal oestrogen are not associated with the development of dementia.