The 50a50 reading club has had the pleasure of receiving Dr. Carme Valls, a pioneer in research on the differences in the health of women and men and author of the work “Invisible Women for Medicine”.

Carme Valls is a politician and doctor, specialized in endocrinology and medicine with a gender perspective. Her most important claim is the inclusion of the differences between men and women in the design and analysis of studies on pathologies and treatments.

In this book, Carme Valls explains how breast cancer, cardiovascular diseases, untreated mental illnesses, osteoporosis and other illnesses associated with menopause are just a few examples that, along with anorexia or bulimia, are the daughters of tyrannical cult of the body, which cry out for a medicine adapted to women. “Invisible Women for Medicine” is a journey through the different corners of women’s health, about how they see themselves and how they allow others to see them. An essential document for everyone that claims the birth of a medicine adapted to the specific needs of women.

“This book should be like the bible for women, have it on the bedside table and be able to review and reread it from time to time”, said the president of the Associació 50a50, Anna Mercadé. “Surely it is not the bible”, the author answered, “but writing it has helped me to stay calm because I have compiled and organized all my works on women’s health”.

Carme Valls explained that the Covid has more mortality among men, although the incidence is higher among women: “Women have been infected more because they are the majority in the first line, in the first wave 56% of women were infected compared to the 44% of men, and in the second and third waves the percentage of infected women has remained the majority, 52%. Even so, there is more mortality among men from the age of 80 because they lose their immunity earlier than women”. She also denounced that the works on the Covid do not disaggregate by sex. “Ignoring the gender perspective in the study of diseases is a serious mistake that is continually repeated”, she insisted.

The doctor requested the modification of the study plans of the medical schools to include this gender perspective. “While this change does not come, as the life expectancy of women is greater than that of men, we live until 86 years on average, because we have to have the best possible time when we reach a certain age, because we will no longer have to compete with men so that they do not step on us. Now we just have to enjoy ourselves, and an hour for ourselves, to dance or to listen to poetry, for example, is very beneficial for our health” she added to close with an optimistic message.