Bonita R, Howe A L
Department of Medicine, University of Auckland, New Zealand.
World Health Stat Q. 1996;49(2):134-41.
This article, based on a report (Women, aging and health: achieving health across the life span) prepared for the WHO Global Commission on Women's Health under the guidance of WHO's Aging and Health Programme, presents demographic data that clearly demonstrate the need for recognition of the health of aging women as a global issue of major public health concern. The authors show that, while female life expectancy at birth is significantly different in developed and developing countries (because of high infant and maternal mortality in the latter), these differences tend to decrease for women in developing countries who reach middle age. The authors review the various facets of the "gender transition" brought about by demographic and epidemiological transitions, drawing attention to contrasts between the situation in developing countries in Asia and Latin America and that in Eastern Europe, for example. The role of older women as care-givers is discussed, as is the likelihood of a future increase in the proportion of older women living alone in the developing world (a factor which renders them particularly vulnerable in many socioeconomic and health respects). Suggestions are made on methodologies for monitoring health trends in aging women, and on the role of WHO in this respect. A basic goal for global strategies relating to the health of older women is formulated: reduction of the inequities in life expectancy between developed and developing countries.
本文基于在世卫组织老龄化与健康规划指导下为世卫组织全球妇女健康委员会编写的一份报告（《妇女、老龄化与健康：实现一生的健康》），呈现了人口数据，这些数据清楚地表明，将老年妇女的健康视为一个重大公共卫生关切的全球问题是有必要的。作者表明，虽然发达国家和发展中国家出生时女性预期寿命存在显著差异（原因是后者婴儿和孕产妇死亡率较高），但对于发展中国家步入中年的女性而言，这些差异往往会缩小。作者审视了人口和流行病学转变带来的“性别转变”的各个方面，例如，提请注意亚洲和拉丁美洲发展中国家与东欧情况之间的对比。文中讨论了老年妇女作为照料者的角色，以及未来发展中世界独自生活的老年妇女比例增加的可能性（这一因素使她们在许多社会经济和健康方面变得脆弱）。文中就监测老年妇女健康趋势的方法以及世卫组织在这方面的作用提出了建议。制定了与老年妇女健康相关的全球战略的一个基本目标：减少发达国家和发展中国家预期寿命方面的不平等。
