While it has been required since 1993 that women and minorities be included in clinical trials in the U.S., what we now know about this gender gap in health and medical treatment indicates a need for further research.
Here are five key areas where men and women differ in disease and treatment response, as presented by The Wall Street Journal.
- Women are disproportionately affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Scientists hypothesized two-thirds of Alzheimer’s patients were women because women live longer than men. However, research now shows a link between the lack of the hormone estradiol, a form of estrogen, and Alzheimer’s, according to the report.
- Women are more susceptible to nicotine addiction, and studies show chewing nicotine gum to be the most effective smoking cessation treatment in women specifically, before patches, pills and nasal sprays, according to the report.
- Estrogen makes women metabolize nicotine more quickly than men, triggers lung cancer receptors and activates genes in tumors that affect treatment responses, putting women at a higher risk for lung cancer.
- Studies show women process pain in a different part of the brain than men. Research also shows different immune cells are activated in response to pain in men and women, according to the report.
- Women are 70 percent more likely to deal with depression than men. Female hormone changes have been linked to depression, according to the report, and can affect how drugs are metabolized in the female body.
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