APRIL 12, 2005 | In the 1960s, “Feminine Forever,” a book by gynecologist Robert A. Wilson, M.D., stated that “a woman’s body is the key to her fate” because she needed to be physically attractive to a man.

The statement brought gasps from those attending the lecture, “Current Issues in Women’s Health,” conducted by Vivian W. Pinn, M.D., director of the Office of Research on Women’s Health for the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture was held April 7 at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

“Today,” Pinn said, ‘We are focused on the reality of women as total beings, not just the reproductive system.” She said that as more clinical studies include women, it is more apparent that men’s and women’s bodies react differently to medical conditions and treatments.

Some conditions where differences between men and women have become apparent include the presentation of heart disease, the manifestation and progression of HIV/AIDS, responses to pain and pain therapy, the clinical features and management of depression and the prevalence and care of diabetes.

She said women are also much more likely than men to suffer from musculoskeletal diseases and autoimmune diseases like lupus, multiple sclerosis, thyroid problems and rheumatoid arthritis.

The Office of Research on Women’s Health at NIH was created in 1990, after years of lobbying by women’s activist groups to address women’s health concerns. Pinn said the goal of the office is to “provide scientific answers to questions that women have about their health that they, nor their health care provider, currently know.”

While the leading cause of death for American women is heart disease, it has been only recently that women recognized this fact, mostly due to the strong media attention on breast cancer. Pinn showed a recent popular magazine that focused on heart disease as the top killer, noting that the back cover featured an advertisement with a scantily clad woman promoting cigarettes.

Looking at Arkansas, Pinn said the state’s female population is similar in health statistics to the rest of the nation, though the risk of stroke is extremely high compared to other states. According to a 2000 study, the four leading causes of death in Arkansas women, per 100,000, are: heart disease (231.5), cancer (167.8), chronic respiratory diseases (103.1) and stroke (75.3). Top risk factors for Arkansas women include: poor diet (76.4 percent), lack of exercise (31.5 percent), high blood pressure (27.7 percent), smoking (25.1 percent) and obesity (23.5 percent).

Pinn blamed part of the obesity problem on “portion distortion.” She showed pictures of fast food hamburgers from the 1970s and today. The 1970s hamburger was only half the size, and calories, of the current hamburger. Confusing labeling on food packaging is also a problem, she said.

The two top priorities for the NIH in women’s health for the 21^st century are diverse but related, said Pinn. Interdisciplinary research is needed to examine women’s health issues from the cellular level to the community level. The second priority is career development, for men and women, because there are so few researchers focused on women’s health.

Pinn came to NIH from Howard University in Washington, D.C., where she was professor and chair of the Department of Pathology since 1982. She previously held positions at Tufts University and Harvard Medical School. She received her medical degree from the University of Virginia School of Medicine in 1967, where she was the only woman and minority in her class. She completed her postgraduate training in pathology at the Massachusetts General Hospital, serving as a teaching fellow at Harvard.

Pinn served as the 88th president of the National Medical Association from 1989 to1990, and was the second woman president of the organization. She has been inducted as a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and elected to the Institute of Medicine. In 2004, she received the President’s Achievement Award from the American Medical Women’s Association.

This Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture is part of the Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lectures, established in 1972. This privately endowed program provides funding to assist campuses of the University of Arkansas System in bringing outstanding lecturers who might not be attainable otherwise.

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Office of Research on Women’s Health: http://www4.od.nih.gov/orwh/

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