Gender Medicine

BACKGROUND: It is well known that sex differences occur in both the pathogenesis and therapy of hypertension. A deeper understanding of the underlying processes may be helpful when planning a personalized therapeutic strategy. OBJECTIVE: In laboratory animal experiments, we studied the early mechanisms of vascular adaptation of the intramural small coronary arteries that play a fundamental role in the blood supply of the heart. METHODS: In our study, an osmotic minipump was implanted into 10 male and 10 female Sprague-Dawley rats...

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of sex and the role of ammonia and amino acid metabolism, specifically the activity of glutamine synthetase, in survival and disease progression in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. METHODS: We tested treatment with methionine sulfoximine (MSO) on the lifespan and neuromuscular ability of male and female SOD1 mice as measured by their ability to maintain their grip on an inverted wire grid. We also tested the effects of castration and ovariectomization on those measurements...

BACKGROUND: Data on the effect of gender in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) in non-Caucasian populations is scarce. Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) is a large population with unique characteristics, including high admixture. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to examine the effect of gender in patients with RA in LAC. METHODS: This was a 2-phase study. First we conducted a cross-sectional and analytical study in which 1128 consecutive Colombian patients with RA were assessed...

BACKGROUND: Outcome of patients with urothelial carcinoma of the bladder (UCB) varies between sexes. Although overall incidence is higher in men, cancer-specific survival (CSS) has been suggested to be lower in women. Although the former effect is attributed to greater exposure to carcinogens in men, the latter has not been elucidated. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to identify sex-specific outcomes based on one of the largest databases of patients with UCB who underwent radical cystectomy (RC)...

BACKGROUND: Evidence suggests that in response to in utero insults, male versus female infants have greater disadvantages in pregnancy outcome. In addition, there is a growing body of evidence suggesting that there is a sex-specific fetal response to maternal disease during pregnancy. We considered that a sex-specific relationship may exist between preeclampsia and reduced fetal growth. OBJECTIVE: We investigated if the relationship between preeclampsia and fetal growth was modified by fetal sex...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Across the industrialized world, men experience an earlier onset of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and a life expectancy 5 to 10 years shorter than women. Low total testosterone (TT) concentrations in men have been suggested as a novel CVD risk factor, but its contribution to this gender gap is less well studied. METHODS: We used data of 4152 individuals (2113 women and 2039 men) aged 20 to 79 years from the longitudinal population-based cohort Study of Health in Pomerania, Germany...

BACKGROUND: A sexual dimorphism in human life expectancy has existed in almost every country for as long as records have been kept. Although human life expectancy has increased each year, females still live longer, on average, than males. Undoubtedly, the reasons for the sex gap in life expectancy are multifaceted, and it has been discussed from both sociological and biological perspectives. However, even if biological factors make up only a small percentage of the determinants of the sex difference in this phenomenon, parity in average life expectancy should not be anticipated...

BACKGROUND: The integration of genome-based knowledge into public health or public health genomics (PHG) aims to contribute to disease prevention, health promotion, and risk reduction associated with genetic disease susceptibility. Men and women differ, for instance, in susceptibilities for heart disease, obesity, or depression due to biologic (sex) and sociocultural (gender) factors and their interaction. Genome-based knowledge is rapidly increasing, but sex and gender issues are often not explored...

BACKGROUND: Biological sex and sociocultural gender influence stress-related diseases. Our goal was to explore whether sex and gender roles would predict both allostatic load and physical complaints. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated whether sex- and gender-based factors would correspond to objective and subjective health outcomes. METHODS: Thirty Montreal workers (mean [SE] age, 45.4 [2.1] years) participated. The 30-item Bem Sex Role Inventory was administered to assess scores for masculinity and femininity, which were then transformed into an androgyny index representing gender roles along a continuum...

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence of an elevated sex ratio at birth (SRB) in many Asian countries, including Vietnam, and that this prenatal gender inequity is related to sex-selective abortion. However, few studies have investigated the relation between the sex of offspring and delivery care utilization. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to relate sex of newborns to place and mode of delivery in a province in northern Vietnam. METHODS: A population-based surveillance system within the Neonatal Health-Knowledge Into Practice (NeoKIP) project (ISRCTN44599712) recorded all births within eight districts of Quang Ninh province in northern Vietnam from July 2008 to June 2011...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.

BACKGROUND: Sex-related differences in complications and mortality of infection were examined with conflicting results. Further studies are required to bring new light in this topic in Staphylococcus aureus infections. OBJECTIVE: We examined the outcomes of S. aureus infection in men and in women and whether sex-related differences were explained by underlying disorders, severity of disease, or clinical management. METHODS: This cohort study was conducted in a single center between 1988 and 2007...

BACKGROUND: Although osteoarthritis more commonly affects women than men, women are 3 times less likely to undergo hip or knee replacement surgery compared with men. Disparity in the appropriate utilization of surgery between men and women is a complex subject that must take into account the willingness of a patient to proceed with the operation. Adequately addressing patient concerns before surgery may influence such willingness. OBJECTIVE: We examined if a gender difference can be identified in the frequency and types of questions submitted by patients scheduled for total hip or total knee arthroplasty...

BACKGROUND: Metabolism interaction between corticosteroids and tacrolimus (Tac) exists and can be an important factor in providing rational pharmacotherapy in kidney transplantation patients. Both Tac and corticosteroids can induce adverse metabolic effects, such as hyperglycemia, post-transplantation diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia. OBJECTIVE: The main goal of this study was to detect corticosteroid dose influence on Tac level within the first 6 months of immunosuppressive therapy...

BACKGROUND: Both high body fat and low muscle mass have been associated with physical disability in older adults. However, men and women differ markedly in body composition; men generally have more absolute and relative lean muscle mass and less fat mass than women. It is not known how these anthropometric differences differentially affect physical ability in men and women. OBJECTIVES: This study examines differences in anthropometric predictors of physical performance in older women and men...

BACKGROUND: Low levels of cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and physical activity (PA) are associated with a risk of the development of metabolic syndrome. Contradictory findings are reported in the literature regarding the influence of sex and CRF and PA on metabolic changes. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of CRF and PA on lipid and carbohydrate metabolism biomarkers in boys and girls. METHODS: A total of 82 prepubertal boys and 55 girls (7-12 years of age) were classified according to sex, low or high CRF, and performance or nonperformance of PA...

BACKGROUND: Male sex is a well-known risk factor for unfavorable perinatal outcomes. Fetal sex has been considered only occasionally in diabetic pregnancy. OBJECTIVE: Our aim was to evaluate perinatal outcomes in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) according to fetal sex. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective review of all singleton pregnancies of women with GDM progressing to >22 weeks and delivering in our center between 1981 and 2007...

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory biomarkers are reported as risk factors for atrial fibrillation (AF), but their impact is uncertain. OBJECTIVE: We investigated the associations between inflammatory biomarkers and future AF in a large general cohort. METHODS: Available markers were white blood cells (WBCs) with subgroups, fibrinogen, high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP), and osteoprotegerin (OPG). A total of 6315 men and women from a population survey in Tromsø, Norway in 1994 to 1995 were followed for a mean of 10...

No abstract text is available yet for this article.