A new review of global medical studies has found that women with the same health conditions as men are less likely to be offered certain treatments, such as surgery, stents, or strong painkillers. Researchers from the University of St Andrews analyzed 38 studies and found that in 33 of them, women were less likely to receive active treatment for conditions like heart disease, kidney disease, and Parkinson’s. This discrepancy raises concerns about whether gender bias influences medical decisions. For example, women who had heart attacks, heart failure, or irregular heartbeats were more likely to be prescribed medication, while men were more often given surgical treatments like coronary bypasses or stents. Women were also less likely to be prescribed statins, which are used to lower cholesterol. In Parkinson’s disease, men were more frequently referred for a procedure called deep brain stimulation, and men with liver failure were more likely to receive transplants than women. Female patients needing dialysis for kidney disease were less likely to get permanent access to the treatment and had to use temporary catheters for longer periods. Despite these differences, treatment for some conditions like stroke and diabetes did not show significant gender disparities. In fact, women were more likely to be treated for dementia. These findings come amid increasing concerns about the "gender health gap," where women often report receiving unequal or less timely care. In March, the UK’s health secretary, Wes Streeting, criticized what he called "medical misogyny" for failing to address women’s health needs. The study’s authors emphasized that the differences in treatment were not due to any official guidelines recommending different care for men and women. Instead, they suggested that the gap might be due to unconscious biases or assumptions by healthcare providers. Dr. Andrew O’Malley, who co-led the study, said the findings should remind doctors to base treatment decisions strictly on clinical evidence rather than assumptions. He noted that doctors often attribute women’s symptoms to anxiety and make more diagnostic errors with female patients, even when test results are clear. Dr. Miriam Veenhuizen, another researcher involved in the study, said the consistency of the findings across various medical fields—such as cardiology, surgery, and emergency care—was striking. She noted that the pattern remained even after adjusting for other factors in most studies, suggesting that the issue is not just a matter of individual cases, but a broader trend in healthcare delivery.