• Question: what types of mental disorders affect women in contrast to men? which sex is more vunrable to getting mental/physical disorders?

    Asked by getsoutagun to William on 21 Jun 2010 in Categories: .
    • Photo: William Davies

      William Davies answered on 21 Jun 2010:

      Great question! Women tend to get depression more often than men (about 2x as commonly). They also get eating disorders such as anorexia nervosa and bulimia more frequently (about 10x as commonly), as well as post-traumatic stress disorder (about 5x more commonly), anxiety disorders (about 2x more commonly) and phobias (again, about 2x more commonly). Men tend to be at increased risk of developing disorders such as autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and alcohol dependence. The reasons for these sex differences are unclear – they may be due to genes on the X and Y chromosomes, to hormone levels or to how men and women are diagnosed and treated – probably a combination of all of these factors

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