A large-scale survey on the health conditions of women in
Chinese cities was released on Sunday. The study shows over 90
percent of women have health problems, especially office
workers.
The survey was conducted in 2006 by Ciming Checkup, an
authorized large-scale chain organization that examined around
300,000 women in its 22 branches across the country, including in
Beijing, Shanghai and Jinhua, in eastern Zhejiang province.
According to the report, 44.5 percent of the women surveyed had
been diagnosed with breast diseases, 46.9 percent with cervical
diseases, 4.4 percent with ovary cysts and 8.8 percent with uterine
fibroids, the most common non-cancerous tumors in women of
childbearing age.
President of Ciming Checkup, Han Xiaohong, emphasized that
health checkups help detect breast cancer and cervical cancer at an
earlier stage and warned that the death rate for those who don't
take regular health checkups is about 30 percent higher.
Statistics from a large clinical survey also show that women who
breast-feed long term are less likely to develop breast cancer. The
study also shows that, women with higher education are also at
higher risk of the disease, with the possibility of women with
college degrees getting diseases 3.6 times higher than those
without them. The fact that this highly educated group are usually
highly paid, well nurtured, prone to late marriage, late child
birth, and habitually take oral contraceptives, increases a woman's
risk of breast cancer during her mature years.
Doctor Han Xiaohong also pointed out that breast diseases are
obtained as a result of many factors, such as genetics,
breast-feeding, eating habits, and also psychological reasons.
These factors all increase the risk of breast cancer in women. She
advised women to carry out regular breast checks and monitor their
daily intake of fat and protein.
(CRI.cn May 28, 2007)