On International Women’s Day, which falls on March 8th every year, the world celebrates the many accomplishments of women.
In light of these realities, we decided to look at the state of health for women in the US. “Zocdoc Reports: International Women’s Day” is a comprehensive analysis of trends in the appointments women booked on Zocdoc over the past year. Our data also highlights the top 10 reasons they went to the doctor this year.
The report shows that women are taking an active approach towards keeping up with preventative care appointments, while increasingly taking steps to take care of their mental health.
Preventative progress
We’re a few months into 2023, and women are taking steps to get preventative care visits out of the way. Preventative care appointments dominate the list of top 10 appointments booked by women so far in 2023. Both annual physicals and ob-gyn exams top the list, with annual physicals increasing by 16 percent from February 2022 to February 2023.
From January to February 2023, the top 10 appointment booking reasons attended by women were:
- Annual Pap Smear / GYN Exam
- Annual Physical
- Dermatology Consultation
- Illness
- Dental Cleaning / Consultation
- Anxiety
- Psychiatry Consultation
- ADD / ADHD
- Depression
- Annual Skin Screening
Mental health matters
Women suffer from conditions like depression and anxiety at higher rates than men. Zocdoc data shows women have been seeking out mental healthcare at higher rates this year than last year. There’s been an uptick in women’s mental health appointments from February 2022 to February 2023.
- Anxiety related appointments attended by women increased by 46%.
- Depression appointments attended by women have increased by 31%.
Autoimmune disorder awareness
Autoimmune disorders — conditions in which a patient’s immune system attacks itself— are more likely to be experienced by women than men. There’s been an increase in women booking appointments with providers who can diagnose autoimmune disorders.
Rheumatology consultation bookings increased by 30% from February 2022 to February 2023. Rheumatologists diagnose issues with the joints, muscles, tendons and other body parts, along with autoimmune disorders like rheumatoid arthritis.
Additionally, hypothyroidism/underactive thyroid appointments attended by women increased by 36%. Hashimoto’s disease, an autoimmune disease, is the most common cause of hypothyroidism.