Gender differences Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

What happened in 60s & 70s

A

It became clear that gender could influence biomedical research results

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

Why may disease & treatment vary between genders

A

As diseases can affect the two differently

- Certain diseases affect one gender more than the other

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

How can gender be determined after death

A
  • Women generally have bigger pelvises

- Men generally have more skeletal muscles and bigger frames

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

Osteoporosis

A

80% patients are women

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

Autoimmune disease

A

3-fold more common in women than men

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

Depression

A

2-3 times more common in women than men

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

Depression

- reasons why more common in women

A
  • Possible connection to women producing less serotonin (neurotransmitter) - though some peoples doesn’t improve with antidepressants (boosts serotonin)
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

Other mental health diseases

A

Sex-based differences also present in incidence & expression of schizophrenia, PTSD, panic disorder, etc.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

Potential causes of sex-based differences in physiology & disease

A
  • Societal
  • Genetic
  • Effects of the sex steroids
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

Societal

A
  • Lifestyle/behaviour - Some female athletes show very similar physiological traits as men
  • Environmental
  • Healthcare
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

Genetic

A

Linked to x- or Y- chromosome

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

transgender people

A

It can be hard to treat transgender people because some treatments are gender based and they are truly the opposite gender than is at face value

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

Effects of sex steroids

- Ones involved

A
  • Androgens, estrogens and progestins

- All present in both males and females

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

Effects of sex steroids

- Estrogens & androgens

A

Physiologically important in both males and females

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

Sex hormones & life stages

- Prenatal development

A

Sexual differentiation - all start off as female in womb

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

Maturation

A

Child, adolescent & young adult

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

Other life stages

A
  • Variation with menstrual cycle in women

- Pregnancy

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

Cancer

A

Some cancers target one gender rather than the other because of the hormones they target

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

Menopause

A

Causes abrupt drop in estrogen & progesterone

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

Hormones with aging

A

Gradual decline in testosterone with aging in both men & women
- After the menopause the difference in physiology and hormones becomes smaller, as men and women become more similar

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

sex based differences in body comp & structure

- Well known (stereotypes)

A

Men have:

  • Greater bone mass
  • Greater muscle mass
  • Lower %bf - typically because women have higher due to reproductive system
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

Structural differences in M&F

A
  • Men have bigger hearts and lungs
  • Men have bigger brains
  • Gastrointestinal system
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Differences in ‘normal values’

  • Cardiovascular
  • Blood pressure
A

5-10mmHg higher in men than women

- Difference disappears after menopause

24
Q

HR

A

Lower in men than age-matched women

25
Q

ECG intervals

A

some longer in women

26
Q

Renal

- Kidney filtration rate

A
  • Slightly lower in young female than age matched men
  • May decline more rapidly with age in men than women
  • Men’s kidneys are generally more worn out and show more strain then womens
27
Q

Liver

A
  • Lipid metabolism
  • Drug metabolism - there is a difference in the way that men and women metabolise drugs - which is why certain medications (even at the same dose) affect a man and women in completely different ways
28
Q

Other difference in physiological function

A
  • Gastrointestinal
  • immune system
  • kidney
  • Lung
  • skin
  • Etc.
29
Q

Heart disease

A

Leading cause of death in both men and women

30
Q

Heart disease

- Differences between gender

A
  • Starts 10 years later in women than men

- Difference in symptoms, progression and outcomes

31
Q

Stroke

A

More likely in women than men

32
Q

Heart size

A
  • Men have significantly greater left ventricle mass than women as well as chamber size
  • Because men have to generally pump more blood around the body due to having bigger frames
33
Q

Blood pressure

A

Women have lower resting blood pressure

  • Also have lower tolerance to shifting posture and sudden changes in position - more likely to faint
  • Equal to men after menopause
34
Q

Typical signals of a heart attack

A
  • Chest discomfort/uncomfortable pressure/squeezing or pain in centre of chest
  • spreading pain to one or both arms, back, jaw or stomach
  • Cold sweats and nausea
35
Q

Women and heart attacks

A
  • Only 30% exhibit typical symptoms
36
Q

Typical heart attack signals - women

A
  • Shortness of breath
  • nausea
  • vomiting
  • sleeplessness
  • back pain or jaw pain
  • generalized weakness
  • Leads to late treatment and preventable deaths
37
Q

BF

A

women typically have higher bf% (5-10%) and lower muscle mass than an average male

38
Q

How do women metabolise carbs

A

Women metabolise carbs like glucose at varying rates depending where they are in their menstrual cycle
- Why women get different cravings when they are on their periods

39
Q

Metabolism during endurance exercise

A

Females burn more fat and less carbs and protein during endurance exercise compared to males

40
Q

Lung capacity

A

Men have larger lungs, wider airways, and greater lung diffusion capacity than women - even if normalised to height

41
Q

Consequence of structural difference in lungs

A

Compared to young healthy males, maximal exercise capacity may be limited by pulmonary capacity in women - especially as they age

42
Q

Brain circumference

A

12-20% larger in boys than girls

- Based on body weight at this age - if similar weight, they will have similar size of brain

43
Q

head circumference

A

boys 2% larger than girls

44
Q

Brain weight

A

11-12% more in men than women - heads also 2% bigger

45
Q

Cognitive abilities

A
  • Said that women are better at certain language abilities and men are better at certain spatial abilities
  • Many studies have tried to find difference in R & L cerebral hemispheres to suggest male and female brains are different - however few have been found meaningful - often bad studies
46
Q

Hypothalamus

A

preoptic area and the suprachiasmatic nucleus have clear differences in male and female brains

47
Q

Preoptic area

A
  • Difference only apparent after 4 y/o
  • Area involved in mating behaviour
  • Greater in volume, cross section and number of cells than in women
48
Q

Suprachiasmatic nucleus

A
  • Involved in circadian rhythms & reproduction cycles

- Shaped like sphere in men and more elongated in women

49
Q

Differences in skeletons

A
  • Men have thicker and longer limbs
  • Men have bigger and longer leg bones
  • Women have narrower rib cages, smaller teeth and less angular mandibles (jawbone)
  • Women have less pronounced cranial features
  • Women have bigger hips than men
50
Q

Sex determination from skeletons

A
  • Only can tell difference in adolescent and adult skeletons because there are far fewer sexual differences in children before puberty
  • Men typically have larger muscle attachment points on their bones
51
Q

Pelvis

A
  • The great sciatic notch is wider in women than men 68degress in women, less for men
  • Acetabulum (head of femur meets pubic bone) bigger and deeper in men - because men have narrow pelvis
  • Sacrum straighter in females more curved in men
  • Pelvic inlet is larger and more round in females - to facilitate child birth
52
Q

Skull

A
  • Chin more square in men and more pointed in females
  • Forehead more slanted back on males and more rounded in females
  • Men have more pronounced brow ridges
53
Q

Training recommendations

A

Many biased against women as were developed from all-male trials

54
Q

Studies and training programmes

A
  • Females more willing to volunteer for studies involving muscle biopsies and other minor procedures
  • Females more likely to follow training programmes and attend all appointments
55
Q

Male v Female performance

A

Women not as weak as men once assumed and are quite often able to physically perform at a superior level

56
Q

Women and endurance

A
  • Females better suited to ultra-endurance sports then men
  • Field-study found that women out-performed men at the 90km distance
  • Whereas men were found to out perform females up to 42km, with increasing performance advantage for females above 66km
  • Women can adapt more and change where they get their energy from