Gender medicine. Sex- and gender-specific aspects of clinical medicine

Gender medicine studies sex- and gender-based differences in the development and prevention of diseases, the awareness and presentation of symptoms, and the effectiveness of therapy. Gender medicine is part of personalized medicine, considering differences in biological and psychosocial factors individually. There are differences in genes, chromosomes, hormones, and metabolism as well as differences in culture, environment, and society. Lifelong interactions between physical and psychosocial factors will influence the health and ill-health of men and women in different ways. Epigenetic modifications provide evidence of the impact of environment and lifestyle during vulnerable phases on biological processes, effecting future generations. Maternal lifestyle and environmental factors during pregnancy can impact the health of offspring in later life already in utero in a sex-specific way. Pain, stress, and coping styles differ between men and women. Women experience more dramatic physical changes during their lifetime, which are associated with specific burdens and psychosocial alterations. Women with multiple roles and responsibilities suffering from stress develop depression more frequently. However, men are often not diagnosed and treated appropriately in cases of depression or osteoporosis, diseases that are typically considered "female.aEuro There are prominent differences between men and women in medicine regarding the immune system, inflammation, and noncommunicable diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. Women experience more often autoimmune diseases and suffer more frequently from (chronic) pain, neurodegenerative changes, and functional disabilities. Men have shorter life expectancy but relatively more healthy years of life, which is in greater part ascribed to psychosocial determinants. State-of-the-art clinical medicine comprises individual risk factors based on sex- and gender-sensitive health programs in order to improve the health-related quality of life for men and women.