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Women spend an average of nine years in poor health – and it is often driven by prejudice rather than biology, says report

Closing the “gender health gap” could add an extra $1 trillion (£790bn) to the global economy, according to the first report to quantify the financial impact of discrimination in health against women.

The gender health gap is the difference in the standard of health care women receive compared to men – and is reflected in different health outcomes.

“On average, women spend nine years of their lives in poor health, and the majority of these are during working age,” said Dr Lucy Pérez, a co-author of the report.

Much of this time spent in poor health is caused by prejudice rather than biology.

For example, a study conducted in Denmark over 21 years showed that women received diagnoses later than after men for more than 700 different diseases. For cancer, it took women two and a half years longer to be diagnosed. For diabetes, the extra wait was four and a half years.

Similar differences are found in health systems the world over, including the UK.