Beyond Reproductive Care: Redefining Women’s Health Across the Life Course
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.68041/jwhrmp.v1i1/01Keywords:
Aging, Chronic Disease, Health Equity, Life Cycle Stages, Patient-Centered Care, Preventive Health Services, Women's HealthAbstract
Women's health is not limited to women's reproductive health, but health systems are typically structured around discrete reproductive events and/or disease-specific services. A life-course perspective, however, acknowledges the interplay between biological transitions, cumulative exposures, social contexts, and evolving health and healthcare needs from adolescence to older age. This editorial offers an overall model of Women's Health (the Women's Health Continuum Model) comprised of five interrelated functions: prevention, early detection, transition care, integrated management, and longitudinal follow-up. It also brings to the forefront the recognition of the interrelationships of cardiometabolic, mental, neurological, musculoskeletal, cancer, sexual, and pelvic health as areas of women's health and not distinct clinical specialties. Attention will need to be paid to socioeconomic conditions, geographic access, health literacy, caregiving responsibilities, disability, gender-related barriers, violence, and representation in research to implement equitably. Health trajectory-based care can enhance prevention, continuity, and more comprehensive and patient-centered care throughout the lifespan.
References
1. World Health Organization. Framework to implement a life course approach in practice: summary. World Health Organization. 2026. https://doi.org/10.2471/B09721 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2471/B09721
2. Patwardhan V, Gil GF, Arrieta A, Cagney J, DeGraw E, Herbert ME, et al. Differences across the lifespan between females and males in the top 20 causes of disease burden globally: a systematic analysis of the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021. Lancet Public Health. 2024;9(5):e282-e294. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00053-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(24)00053-7
3. Carcel C, Haupt S, Arnott C, Yap ML, Henry A, Hirst JE, et al. A life-course approach to tackling noncommunicable diseases in women. Nat Med. 2024;30(1):51-60. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02738-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-023-02738-1
4. McKinney JL, Clinton SC, Keyser LE. Women's Health Across the Lifespan: A Sex- and Gender-Focused Perspective. Phys Ther. 2024;104(10):pzae121. https://doi.org/10.1093/ptj/pzae121 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ptj/pzae121
5. Lassi ZS, Wade JM, Ameyaw EK. Stages and future of women's health: A call for a life-course approach. Womens Health (Lond). 2025;21:17455057251331721. https://doi.org/10.1177/17455057251331721 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/17455057251331721
6. Sawyer SM, Azzopardi PS, Wickremarathne D, Patton GC. The age of adolescence. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2018;2(3):223-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(18)30022-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(18)30022-1
7. Patton GC, Sawyer SM, Santelli JS, Ross DA, Afifi R, Allen NB, et al. Our future: a Lancet commission on adolescent health and wellbeing. Lancet. 2016;387(10036):2423-78. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00579-1 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00579-1
8. Teede HJ, Tay CT, Laven JJ, Dokras A, Moran LJ, Piltonen TT, et al. Recommendations from the 2023 international evidence-based guideline for the assessment and management of polycystic ovary syndrome. Eur J Endocrinol. 2023;189(2):G43-64. https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvad096 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ejendo/lvad096
9. Pathan AG, Tariq K, Aslam H, Ehsan M. Microbial Etiology of Catheter-Associated Urinary Tract Infections in Hospitalized Patients in Tertiary Healthcare. Pak Euro. J. Med & LS. 2026;9(1):269-76. https://doi.org/10.31580/pjmls.v9i1.3526
10. Diaz AM, Laufer MR, Breech LL. Menstruation in girls and adolescents: using the menstrual cycle as a vital sign. Pediatrics. 2006;118(5):2245-50. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-2481 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-2481
11. World Health Organization. Menopause. Geneva: World Health Organization. 2024. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/menopause/
12. Honigberg MC, Zekavat SM, Aragam K, Klarin D, Bhatt DL, Scott NS, et al. Long-term cardiovascular risk in women with hypertension during pregnancy. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2019;74(22):2743-54. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2019.09.052 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jacc.2019.09.052
13. Retnakaran R, Qi Y, Sermer M, Connelly PW, Hanley AJ, Zinman B. Glucose intolerance in pregnancy and future risk of pre-diabetes or diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2008;31(10):2026-31. https://doi.org/10.2337/dc08-0972 DOI: https://doi.org/10.2337/dc08-0972
14. Faubion SS, Crandall CJ, Davis L, El Khoudary SR, Hodis HN, Lobo RA, et al. The 2022 hormone therapy position statement of the North American Menopause Society. Menopause. 2022;29(7):767-94. https://doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000002028 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/GME.0000000000002028
15. Ben-Shlomo Y, Kuh D. A life course approach to chronic disease epidemiology: conceptual models, empirical challenges and interdisciplinary perspectives. Int J Epidemiol. 2002;31(2):285-93. https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/31.2.285 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/ije/31.2.285
16. Stringhini S, Carmeli C, Jokela M, Avendaño M, Muennig P, Guida F, et al. Socioeconomic status and the 25× 25 risk factors as determinants of premature mortality: a multicohort study and meta-analysis of 1· 7 million men and women. Lancet. 2017;389(10075):1229-37. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)32380-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)32380-7
17. Brown HL, Warner JJ, Gianos E, Gulati M, Hill AJ, Hollier LM, et al. Promoting risk identification and reduction of cardiovascular disease in women through collaboration with obstetricians and gynecologists: a presidential advisory from the American Heart Association and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Circulation. 2018;137(24):e843-52. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000582 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000582
18. Barker DJ. The developmental origins of adult disease. J Am Coll Nutr. 2004;23(sup6):588S-95S. https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2004.10719428 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/07315724.2004.10719428
19. Lohana K, Parkash J, Shaikh MZ, Ghani M, Lohana N, Uqaili AA. To deduce the changes in lipid profile and BMI that lead to cardiovascular diseases in postmenopausal women. J Popul Ther Clin Pharmacol. 2023;30(19):1809–1814. https://doi.org/10.53555/jptcp.v30i19.3941
20. Furey RT, Thomas EHX, Kulkarni J, Gurvich C. Subjective versus objective cognition during menopause: A systematic review and meta-analysis. J Int Neuropsychol Soc. 2025;31(5-6):459-477. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617725101306 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617725101306
21. Bray F, Laversanne M, Sung H, Ferlay J, Siegel RL, Soerjomataram I, et al. Global cancer statistics 2022: GLOBOCAN estimates of incidence and mortality worldwide for 36 cancers in 185 countries. CA Cancer J Clin. 2024;74(3):229-63. https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21834 DOI: https://doi.org/10.3322/caac.21834
22. Hall J, Chawla M, Watson D, Jacob CM, Schoenaker D, Connolly A, et al. Addressing reproductive health needs across the life course: an integrated, community-based model combining contraception and preconception care. Lancet Public Health. 2023;8(1):e76-e84. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00254-7 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2468-2667(22)00254-7
23. Khatri R, Endalamaw A, Erku D, Wolka E, Nigatu F, Zewdie A, et al. Continuity and care coordination of primary health care: a scoping review. BMC Health Serv Res. 2023;23(1):750. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-09718-8 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-023-09718-8
24. Ojong SA, Temmerman M, Khosla R, Bustreo F. Women’s health and rights in the twenty-first century. Nat Med. 2024;30(6):1547-55. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03036-0 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03036-0
25. Goldstein KM, Kung LC, Dailey SA, Kroll-Desrosiers A, Burke C, Shepherd-Banigan M, et al. Strategies for enhancing the representation of women in clinical trials: an evidence map. Syst Rev. 2024;13(1):2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-023-02408-w DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13643-023-02408-w
26. Memon S, Bano U, Singha SP, Shahani MY, Shaikh P, Shahani SB, et al. Chromium restriction in the intrauterine environment and development of metabolic diseases in mice offspring. J Taibah Univ Med Sci. 2025;20(3):365–375. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtumed.2025.06.001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtumed.2025.06.001
27. Bano U, Memon S, Shahani MY, Shaikh P, Gul S. Epigenetic effects of in utero bisphenol A administration: Diabetogenic and atherogenic changes in mice offspring. Iran J Basic Med Sci. 2019;22(5):521–528. https://doi.org/10.22038/ijbms.2019.29909.7357
28. Goswami P, Memon S, Ujjan ID, Gul F. Altered placental expression of genes related to vitamin D metabolism and their correlation with spiral artery remodeling in preeclamptic women. Adv Life Sci. 2024;11(4):756–760. https://doi.org/10.62940/als.v11i4.1893 DOI: https://doi.org/10.62940/als.v11i4.1893
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Muhammad Ehsan
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Journal of Women's Health, Reproductive Medicine and Physiology (JWHRMP) follows the Attribution Creative Commons-Non commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license which allows the users to copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format, remix, transform and build upon the material. The users must give credit to the source and indicate, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. However, the CC BY-NC 4.0 license restricts the use of material for commercial purposes (Further details are available at website. The Editorial Board of the JWHRMP endeavors to ensure the accuracy, integrity, and quality of all published content. However, the responsibility of opinions, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in the published articles rests entirely with the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Editorial Board, publisher, or affiliated institutions.
