International Women’s Day: Worthing doctor working to combat ‘one of the biggest challenges we face in modern medicine’

Dr Nina Wilson is the CEO and founder of One Woman Health, a clinic specialising in women's health and, in particular, closing the 'women's health gap'.

The women’s health gap describes the fact that women live longer than men but spend more time in poor health because the current system has blind spots around important aspects of women's health – including cardiovascular disease, bone health, autoimmune disease, gynaecological health.

Nine said: “The women’s health gap is one of the biggest challenges we face in modern medicine because it affects half of everything we do.

“Medical research has largely been based on male biology, leaving significant blind spots in how we understand and treat women’s health.

“Conditions that only affect women have historically been under-researched. Endometriosis, for example, is as common as type 2 diabetes, yet it remains poorly understood, with limited treatment options and an average diagnostic delay of around ten years.

“Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in women worldwide, yet it is still widely perceived as a ‘man’s disease’.

“Women are around 50 per cent more likely to be misdiagnosed with anxiety when they are actually having a heart attack, and they are more likely to die following one.

“Osteoporosis is another major example – it disproportionately affects women, yet around 70 per cent of people at high risk of fracture are never assessed or treated.

“The evidence is there, but it is not consistently translated into everyday clinical practice.

“That’s why I set up my clinic – One Woman Health – to provide care that properly reflects women’s biology optimising health now and for the long-term.”

Nina put together and delivered a one-day conference on the women's health gap in London on February 26, which brought together global and UK leaders.

Speakers included the women's health ambassador for England, Dame Lesley Regan, the national clinical director in women’s health for NHS England, Dr Sue Mann, and journalist, broadcaster and author Caitlin Moran.

Nina added: “The conference was instrumental in bringing together the different disciplines needed to bring about the change we need in women’s health – clinicians, researchers, investors and innovators.

“By creating a space where these groups could connect and coordinate their efforts, to accelerate progress in this area.

“It was an incredibly powerful day and the only the beginning of further work.”

For more information, visit https://onewomanhealth.com/.