Women's Health Month, observed each year in May, serves as an important reminder to celebrate women around the world. It also offers a meaningful opportunity to check in on where we stand when it comes to trends shaping women’s health.
In 2026, there is progress worth recognizing including declining breast cancer mortality rates driven by advances in screening and treatment, and growing awareness of menopause as a whole body health transition. But there are also things to pay attention to, such as rising rates of certain types of cancers in younger women and the continued reality that women are still the majority when it comes to diagnoses of things like Alzheimer's disease and autoimmune conditions.
This knowledge is an opportunity to prioritize our health as women, through lifestyle choices, open conversations with healthcare providers, and proactive approaches to screening and prevention.
Here is a closer look at the current state of women’s health in America.
Some cancers are rising in younger women
Traditionally viewed as a disease of the elderly, colorectal cancer has made headlines for affecting both men and women under 50 at a higher rate. It’s now the second leading cause of cancer death in women, after breast cancer.
But that’s not the only cancer that’s rising in younger women. In an analysis of more than two million cancers diagnosed between 2010 and 2019, about 63% of early-onset cancers occurred in women, with the largest increases seen in breast, thyroid, and melanoma cancers.
While not all of these cancers have translated into increased mortality in women, the upward trend highlights the importance of early detection.
Related: Colorectal cancer is surging in people under 50. The mystery is why.
Breast cancer mortality is on the decline
Breast cancer diagnoses are on the rise—especially in that under 50 demographic—but mortality rates have been declining. Data from 2024 found that breast cancer mortality rates overall have dropped by 44% since 1989. This has largely been linked to improvements in early detection and treatment. Mortality rates in American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) women, however, have remained unchanged over the past three decades.
Women make up nearly two-thirds of Alzheimer’s cases
Alzheimer’s continues to affect women at a disproportionate rate, as a woman’s risk of developing Alzheimer’s is twice that of a man’s. Scientists are still trying to work out why this is but some theorize it may be partially due to hormonal changes. Women who undergo menopause early are also at a higher risk of developing the condition. While some think it’s due to women living longer than men on average, emerging research suggests longevity alone does not fully explain the gap. One study found that beginning at age 80, women were more likely to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s than men of the same age.
Women experience higher rates of insomnia and fragmented sleep
Research suggests that women may require slightly more sleep than men. But women are much more likely to struggle with insomnia. Around 1 in 4 women typically experience insomnia but as women get older, that can jump to around 70% reporting sleep difficulties. Women also have almost twice the risk of developing sleep-distrupting conditions like restless leg syndrome. Sleep challenges often intensify with age and hormonal change, with higher occurrence in postmenopausal women. After menopause, estimates suggest that obstructive sleep apnea can affect anywhere from 47% to 67% of women.
Insufficient sleep has been linked to cardiovascular disease, metabolic and weight issues, earlier cognitive decline, and advanced biological aging.
Women are twice as likely to experience anxiety and depression
There are some mental health conditions that women are more prone to, particularly anxiety and depression. They also show an increased prevalence of PTSD.
This may be due to a combination of factors, including hormonal fluctuations across the menstrual cycle, pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and menopause. Women are also much more likely to find themselves in caretaking roles, which can also lead to stress and mood disorders.
Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in women
Over 60 million U.S. women are living with some form of heart disease. And in 2023, it was responsible for the deaths of 1 in 5 women. Cardiovascular disease tends to develop around 10 years later in women than men. While you can develop heart disease at any age, the risk increases after age 55.
Risk factors include:
- High blood pressure
- Smoking and excess alcohol
- Excess weight
- An unhealthy diet
- Inactivity
- Stress
- Depression
- Diabetes
- Early menopause
- Early first menstrual cycle
- Polycystic ovarian syndrome
- A delivery of a low or high birth weight baby or a preterm delivery
- Gestational diabetes or hypertensive disorders during pregnancy
Menopause and perimenopause are gaining recognition as major health transitions
Menopause is moving past simply being linked to the end of one’s reproductive years. Today, it’s increasingly recognized as a whole-body health transition that can influence cardiovascular risk, metabolic function, brain health, sleep quality, and emotional wellbeing.
It’s also being talked about much more frequently. The subject used to appear more taboo, with some publications referring to it even as “the change” instead of printing the word. As the years go by, the conversation has shifted and celebrities are even openly sharing their experiences and struggles with undergoing the transition.
People are also becoming increasingly educated about perimenopause, the hormonal transition leading up to menopause, which can begin years before menstrual cycles stop and often begins sometime in their 40s.
The average age menopause occurs is around 51 in the United States. Many women experience symptoms for several years before menopause is reached. And as initial symptoms can occur before a lack of menstrual cycle, some women don’t recognize hormonal changes as the underlying cause. Brain fog, for instance, can be misinterpreted as stress.
Related: The 3 stages of menopause—and how they affect your health
Metabolic dysfunction is often underdetected in women
Midlife hormonal shifts don’t just affect hormonal health. Decreases in estrogen and progesterone can contribute to metabolic changes in women’s bodies. Menopause can cause body composition changes like reduced muscle mass, which means the body burns fewer calories. This can also lead to unwanted weight gain. It can also shift weight distribution, placing more weight gain in the abdominal area, increasing the amount of visceral fat in the body—a type of fat strongly linked to insulin resistance and cardiovascular disease
Related: Why you should be tracking your body composition
When estrogen declines, many women experience increases in LDL (“bad”) cholesterol and decreases in HDL (“good”) cholesterol. These changes can make plaque buildup in arteries more likely. Hormonal shifts during menopause are also associated with worsening insulin sensitivity and a higher likelihood of metabolic syndrome. And some of these changes can occur without obvious signs, such as weight gain, allowing them to develop gradually and go unnoticed..
Chronic stress is increasingly recognized as a whole-body health risk for women
Ongoing stress is no longer being viewed as solely a mental health concern. Growing research shows persistent stress can influence nearly every system in the body, affecting cardiovascular health, immune function, metabolic regulation, and brain health.
Related: How stress affects your entire body
Research shows that women are more likely than men to report symptoms of stress. And mental health conditions they are more prone to, like depression and anxiety, can be exacerbated by stress, as it keeps the body in a prolonged fight-or-flight state marked by elevated cortisol and adrenaline.
Over time, this stress can lead to inflammation, sleep disruption, and metabolic changes that raise a woman’s risk of disease and chronic conditions. As awareness grows around the impact of stress, clinicians are emphasizing stress management as a core component of preventive health rather than a secondary lifestyle concern.
Dense breast tissue is changing screening conversations
As of September 2024, the FDA began requiring mammography centers to notify women of their breast density. That’s because it’s becoming more widely recognized that having dense breasts can increase the risk of breast cancer—and that dense breasts can also make it harder for mammography technicians to see tumors during routine testing.
This is changing conversations around screenings, as 50% of U.S. women are estimated to have dense breasts. Some physicians are recommending women with denser breast tissue receive supplemental screening via modalities like ultrasounds and breast MRI, which are performed with contrast to provide a deeper look at breast tissue.
Related: What breast density can tell you about your health
Women account for the majority of autoimmune disease diagnoses
It’s estimated that around 24 to 50 million Americans are living with some form of autoimmune condition. And statistics show that a staggering majority of these individuals are female, with as many as 4 out of 5 of those diagnosed being women. These autoimmune conditions can include everything from Lupus to Hashimoto’s, celiac disease, type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis.
Researchers believe women’s higher autoimmune risk is driven by a combination of factors, including:
- Stronger baseline immune responses
- Hormonal influences
- Immune-related genes on the X chromosome that may be overexpressed
- Microbiome differences
- Immune changes related to pregnancy and environmental exposures.
Autoimmune conditions are often complex. Symptoms like fatigue and joint pain can be misinterpreted for other conditions. Some statistics show that on average, it can take over 4.5 years for patients to receive a proper diagnosis. And in some reports, 40% of patients who were eventually diagnosed were told their symptoms were initially due to them being too concerned with their health or hypochondriacs.
The power of early detection
Women face unique health challenges across their lifespan, including hormonal fluctuations, pregnancy, menopause, and even differences in immune and cardiovascular function. This can all affect how their symptoms appear, when conditions develop, and how quickly they are recognized. In many cases, women’s symptoms may be subtle, atypical, or attributed to stress or normal hormonal changes. This can result in delayed recognition of underlying health issues and a delay in treatment.
This is one reason proactive health is gaining momentum. Instead of waiting till more serious symptoms appear, more women are exploring ways to better understand what is happening inside their bodies earlier, when changes may be easier to monitor, manage, or treat.
Prenuvo services such as a Whole Body Scan, Body Composition Analysis, Brain Health Assessment, and blood labs may help provide visibility into multiple organ systems at once, to help identify structural changes, help detect certain cardiovascular risk factors, and offer an additional layer of insight alongside standard screenings.
While it’s not a replacement for traditional preventative care and recommended screenings, Prenuvo may help provide a complementary broader view of your whole body health.
To learn more about the benefits of Prenuvo’s services, book a call with a member of our Patient Services Team.
