a Department of Reproductive and Maternal Medicine , University of Glasgow , Glasgow , UK.
b Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology , Princess Royal Maternity Hospital , Glasgow , UK.
Climacteric. 2019 Apr;22(2):111-116. doi: 10.1080/13697137.2018.1547701. Epub 2019 Feb 4.
The females of most species die soon after ceasing to reproduce, their purpose in life being to ensure survival of their kin. Human females may live more than one-third of their lives after they cease to reproduce, a property shared by few species, one of which is Orca whales. Orcas have been extensively studied because families live together in stable units or pods and individual whales have distinctive markings, enabling them to be identified. The females survive long after the menopause, one possible reason for this being that the older females provide a survival advantage since they are seen to lead the pods more often than younger females or males, thus providing a survival advantage in times of food shortage. The female lifespan is increasing in most countries worldwide, principally due to decreased infection and maternal mortality. Women are now more active through middle and into older age. Whatever sort of life they wish to lead, women need to be as fit as possible to facilitate healthy aging. Chronic diseases that affect millions of women are cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, cancer, and dementia. The incidence of all these is increased by obesity, the prevention of which is a major challenge in our society. Hormone therapy may have a place for some women but for many others taking control of their health by lifestyle intervention is a major contributor to disease prevention. It is our duty as doctors to encourage this at every opportunity to help all women live a fruitful and healthy old age.
大多数物种的雌性在停止繁殖后不久就会死亡，它们生命的目的是确保其亲属的生存。人类女性在停止生育后可能会活过生命的三分之一，这是少数几种物种所共有的特性，其中之一就是逆戟鲸。逆戟鲸被广泛研究，因为它们的家庭以稳定的单位或群体生活在一起，而且每只鲸鱼都有独特的标记，可以识别它们。雌性在绝经后还能存活很长时间，一个可能的原因是，年长的雌性提供了生存优势，因为它们比年轻的雌性或雄性更经常领导群体，从而在食物短缺时提供了生存优势。在世界上大多数国家，女性的寿命都在延长，这主要是由于感染和产妇死亡率的降低。女性现在在中年和老年时期更加活跃。无论她们希望过什么样的生活，女性都需要尽可能保持健康，以促进健康衰老。影响数百万女性的慢性疾病包括心血管疾病、骨质疏松症、癌症和痴呆症。所有这些疾病的发病率都因肥胖而增加，预防肥胖是我们社会面临的主要挑战。激素疗法可能对某些女性适用，但对许多其他女性来说，通过生活方式干预来控制自己的健康是预防疾病的主要因素。作为医生，我们有责任在任何机会都鼓励这种做法，以帮助所有女性过上富有成效和健康的晚年生活。
