According to the Gedeon Richter Women's Wellbeing Index, women’s wellbeing stayed largely unchanged since 2017, despite how Covid-19 complicated families’ day-to-day life, which is still largely managed by women.  According to the index, which was conducted in 7 Western European countries, women’s wellbeing in 2022 scored 64 on a scale of 0 to 100 which means there was no significant change in five years, and women still feel largely positive about their lives. Western European women put their loved ones ahead of their own interests and occasionally even their own health. However, caring for their families is not a burden but a main source of joy for them according to the index. The survey of Gedeon Richter, the leading pharmaceutical company in women’s healthcare, also revealed that women tend to suppress certain health problems and rather accept a lower quality of life than turn to a doctor immediately. Having a comprehensive overview on Western European women’s physical and emotional condition, provided by this unique international market research, is of key importance to Gedeon Richer which is devoted not only to preserving women’s quality of life, but also to improving their psychological and social well-being.

Family first with a slight improvement in health awareness

Family still ranks as the most important factor in women’s happiness, and they often put their loved ones ahead their own interests and even their own health. While 82% thinks that they can provide security for the family, only 61% cares about the signals of their own body and turns to a doctor immediately in case of health problems – according to the Gedeon Richter Women’s Wellbeing Index. The survey, an iteration of the 2017 research, was carried out by Kantar Hoffmann on behalf Gedeon Richter, and was conducted among 7000 women aged 16-59 in France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom in August 2022.
 
2 in 3 women strive for a healthy diet, and slightly more women do regular sports frequently (45% of them) than in 2017. Vitamin and supplement intake has increased significantly, from 29% to 36%. Regular screenings are still only part of the everyday life of only about one third of women, but a 2 percent improvement was observed as compared to 5 years ago. 

Neglecting and suppressing health problems

Choosing safe contraception is the most important women’s healthcare issue for the respondents, although 31% does not use any protection.  According to the findings of the Gedeon Richter Women’s Wellbeing Index, the most known and used contraception methods are oral contraceptive pills (27%) and condoms (26%). The main driver behind using pills is that they offer reliable and effective protection against pregnancy, but regulating the menstrual cycle is an almost equally important goal for women. However, their additional benefits were mentioned less often, i.e. less than one-fifth of the respondents use it to reduce the intensity and duration of periods, and one-tenth of respondents use it to eliminate symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.

Women regard menstruation-related problems the second most important women’s health topic. Almost every second 25-50-year-old woman faces menstrual pain regularly and every third complains about heavy menstrual bleeding. Altogether three-quarters of this age group has at least one symptom that might raise the suspicion of a disease of the female genital tract, like uterine fibroids or endometriosis. 43% of the affected women encounter some disadvantages because of these symptoms. In addition it restricts normal daily activity of every third woman and one-fifth actually have to stay at home on the worst days. Half of them just tolerate these inconveniences without looking for a solution, much less women turn to a doctor (27%). The affected women try to supress these complaints with painkillers in most cases (44%). It is only a minority that goes under medical treatment (13%). 

Infertility concerns one-third of women aged 29-45. It has a serious emotional impact: half of affected women are afraid that it can endanger their future plan and biggest dream, becoming a mother. 49% of them worry that it can undermine their self-esteem or cause stress. 18% of the women affected use any method to help conceiving. Mostly “lighter” methods are used, like ovulation detection or timing intercourse, medical methods are used by every sixth women with concern about infertility.

Menopause is obviously more important for the older age group. The 40-55-year-old women are more afraid of the health risks of menopause (40%) than reaching this age (31%) or its impact on their sexual life (30%). They are mostly worried of becoming overweight, followed by sleep problems and depression. The risk of serious diseases, like breast cancer, osteoporosis or heart problems trouble them to a much smaller extent. 72% of this age group complained about at least one symptom characteristic of menopause. Despite the fears of health risks, only 59% of those who experienced any symptom turned to a doctor. Those women who stay away from the doctor mostly think that they can tolerate the symptoms, whilst many of them believe that menopause is a natural process of the body which does not require medical attention.

Two-thirds of women surveyed have experienced at least one symptom of vaginal infection. Though returning symptoms have a negative impact on the sexual life of women, only a third of them consult an HCP when the problem arises.

“With one of the largest women’s healthcare portfolios amongst pharmaceutical companies, Gedeon Richter is devoted not only to protecting women’s health, but also to contribute to improving their psychological and social well-being. This survey enables us to draw attention to their unsaid and unsolved problems.” – said Zsuzsa Beke, Head of Communications and Public Affairs at Gedeon Richter. She added:  “The Gedeon Richter Women’s wellbeing Index shows that caring for others, especially for their families is the most important driving force in women’s life, while they often neglect their own health. For example, many women rather tolerate menstruation-related problems even if it is unbearable on the worst days and do not turn to a doctor, although non-invasive medicinal solution is also available for one of the most common causes of these symptoms, namely uterine fibroids. A similar attitude can be observed in relation to menopause: many women supress the inconvenient symptoms and face its risks rather than use hormone replacement therapy to eliminate them.” 

We have also summarized our most important conclusions in easy-to-follow presentations in each countries’ language at caringforwomen.eu.