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The State of Women's Health in 2026: Data Report

The State of Women's Health in 2026

A data-driven analysis of the treatment gaps affecting millions of American women

Published by Amie | March 2026 | Data from CDC, KFF, McKinsey, NIH, and peer-reviewed studies

Women in the United States face a paradox: they use healthcare more than men, yet receive worse outcomes for many conditions. From menopause to sexual health to weight management, the data reveals a consistent pattern: conditions that disproportionately affect women are under-researched, under-diagnosed, and under-treated.

This report synthesizes the latest published data across five critical areas of women's health, revealing the scope of the treatment gap and the emerging solutions closing it.

1.3M
Women reach menopause annually in the U.S.
48%
Of women experience sexual dysfunction
4.5 yrs
Longer diagnostic delay for women vs. men
276%
Surge in women's telehealth visits (2024)

1. The Menopause Crisis: 80% Symptomatic, Most Untreated

Approximately 6,000 women reach menopause every day in the United States, totaling 1.3 million annually. Despite its universality, menopause remains one of the most poorly addressed health transitions in modern medicine.

80%
of midlife women experience disruptive menopause symptoms including hot flashes, night sweats, sleep disruption, and brain fog
Source: Midi Health/Published clinical data, 2024
94%
of women report receiving zero education about menopause in school
Source: Midi Health survey data, 2024
50%
of women wait six months or more before seeking care for menopause symptoms
Source: State of Menopause survey, 2025
$1.8 Billion
annual U.S. economic loss from menopause-related work impacts. Women with severe symptoms are 15.6x more likely to face job performance issues.
Source: Impacts of Menopause/Economic analysis, 2024
The Treatment Gap

Only 49% of women in perimenopause and 58% in postmenopause discuss symptoms with their doctor. Among those who do, many report being dismissed or offered only antidepressants rather than targeted hormone therapy. In the UK, where tracking is more robust, only 14% of menopausal women use HRT despite its established efficacy.

2. Female Sexual Health: The Most Under-Treated Condition in Medicine

Female sexual dysfunction (FSD) affects nearly half of all women, yet receives a fraction of the research funding and clinical attention devoted to male sexual health conditions.

47.8%
pooled prevalence of female sexual dysfunction across 20 clinical studies (95% CI: 39.2-56.4%)
Source: Systematic review and meta-analysis, PMC 2025
50.7%
of reproductive-age women experience sexual desire disorders, the most common form of FSD
Source: Pooled analysis of 16 studies, PMC 2025
FSD Domain Pooled Prevalence
Low Sexual Desire 50.7%
Arousal Disorder 48.2%
Orgasm Disorder 40.2%
Pain Disorder 39.1%
Lubrication Problems 37.6%
The Awareness Problem

More women experience sexual dysfunction than men, yet these conditions receive significantly less clinical attention, research funding, and pharmaceutical development. Most medical schools have only recently begun incorporating female sexual dysfunction into their curricula. The result: millions of women suffering in silence from treatable conditions.

3. GLP-1 Medications: Women Leading Adoption

Women are driving the GLP-1 revolution, using weight loss medications like semaglutide and tirzepatide at nearly double the rate of men, particularly during the metabolically vulnerable years around menopause.

20%
of women aged 50-64 have used a GLP-1 medication, the highest rate across all demographics
Source: RAND 2025 survey / KFF Health Tracking Poll
2x
Women aged 30-49 are over twice as likely as men in the same age group to have used GLP-1 medications
Source: RAND 2025 survey, PMC 2025
10.9%
average body weight loss for women on GLP-1 medications (vs. 6.8% for men) in real-world 2025 data
Source: HealthVerity real-world evidence analysis, 2025
Metric Women Men
Ever used GLP-1 22% 14%
Currently using GLP-1 15% 9%
Average weight loss 10.9% 6.8%
Planning to use in 2025 30% 20%

4. Hair Loss in Women: The Hidden Epidemic

52%
of post-menopausal women experience female pattern hair loss (FPHL)
Source: FindDerma/Clinical literature review, 2025
85%
of women with hair loss experience reduced self-esteem, yet most delay seeking treatment for years
Source: Chemist-4-U survey/Clinical data, 2025
6x
increase in search interest for minoxidil (a leading hair loss treatment) from 2016 to 2025
Source: Hers/Google Trends analysis, 2025
The Stigma Factor

While 40% of women show signs of hair loss by age 50, hair loss remains culturally associated with men. Women report feeling isolated and ashamed, with 85% experiencing reduced self-esteem. Causes cited include stress/anxiety (50%), postpartum changes (24%), aging (20%), and menopause (16%). Treatment-seeking is rising, with female hair restoration patients up 16.5% since 2021.

5. The Healthcare Dismissal Gap

Across all health conditions, women face a systemic pattern of dismissal, delayed diagnosis, and under-treatment that compounds every issue above.

34%
of women report negative interactions with healthcare providers
50%
of women believe they've faced gender discrimination in care
35%
more likely to skip or delay medical care than men
7x
more likely to be misdiagnosed during a heart attack
4.5 years
Women receive diagnoses 4.5 years later than men on average. For cancer, the delay averages 2.5 years. For endometriosis, diagnosis takes an average of 10 years.
Source: McKinsey Global Institute / Deloitte Health Equity Report, 2024
$1 Trillion
estimated global economic opportunity from closing the women's health gap, according to McKinsey
Source: McKinsey Health Institute, "Closing the Women's Health Gap," 2024

6. Telehealth: Closing the Gap

Women are increasingly turning to telehealth to bypass the barriers of traditional healthcare, with virtual care visits for women's health surging dramatically.

276%
increase in women's health-related virtual care visits from Q1 to Q4 2024
Source: Wheel Virtual Care Horizons Report, 2025
$18 Billion
U.S. women's health market size in 2024, with global potential projected at $1 trillion
Source: Wheel/FemTech market analysis, 2025
33.8%
of U.S. women used telemedicine in 2022, consistently higher than men, with women's health specialty visits growing fastest
Source: CDC National Health Statistics, 2024

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Methodology

This report aggregates data from peer-reviewed studies published in PubMed/PMC, government datasets (CDC, NIH), industry reports (McKinsey, Deloitte, KFF), and validated surveys (RAND, Midi Health, Bonafide State of Menopause). All statistics are sourced from publications dated 2022-2026. Where ranges exist, we report pooled estimates from meta-analyses. This report presents secondary analysis of published data and does not include original survey research.

References

  1. Midi Health. "Menopause Statistics." 2024. joinmidi.com
  2. Pharmavite. "5th Annual State of Menopause Study." 2025.
  3. Bonafide. "State of Menopause 2025." hellobonafide.com
  4. Impacts of Menopause. Economic impact analysis. 2024.
  5. PMC. "Female Sexual Dysfunction Prevalence: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." PMC12481727, 2025.
  6. Medical Xpress. "Sexual dysfunction in women at midlife explored." Nov 2025.
  7. KFF. "1 in 8 Adults Say They Are Currently Taking a GLP-1 Drug." 2025.
  8. RAND Corporation. GLP-1 usage survey. PMC12711338, 2025.
  9. HealthVerity. "GLP-1 Trends 2025: Real-World Data." 2025.
  10. Axios. "Ozempic, weight loss, and women: The menopause connection." June 2025.
  11. ISHRS. "2025 Practice Census Results." ishrs.org, 2025.
  12. Hers/ForHers. "Women and Hair Thinning." forhers.com, 2025.
  13. KFF. "Negative Interactions Experienced by Women in Health Settings." 2024.
  14. Deloitte. "Why Women Skip or Delay Health Care." 2024.
  15. McKinsey Health Institute. "Closing the Women's Health Gap: A $1 Trillion Opportunity." 2024.
  16. Wheel. "Virtual Care Horizons: Women's Health Telehealth Trends." 2025.
  17. CDC/NCHS. "Telemedicine Use Among Adults: United States, 2021-2022." 2024.
  18. Johns Hopkins. "GLP-1 Weight Loss Drugs Comparably Effective Across Demographics." 2026.