Sex difference in human diseases: mechanistic insights and clinical implications

Abstract

Sex characteristics exhibit significant disparities in various human diseases, including prevalent cardiovascular diseases, cancers, metabolic disorders, autoimmune diseases, and neurodegenerative diseases. Risk profiles and pathological manifestations of these diseases exhibit notable variations between sexes. The underlying reasons for these sex disparities encompass multifactorial elements, such as physiology, genetics, and environment. Recent studies have shown that human body systems demonstrate sex-specific gene expression during critical developmental stages and gene editing processes. These genes, differentially expressed based on different sex, may be regulated by androgen or estrogen-responsive elements, thereby influencing the incidence and presentation of cardiovascular, oncological, metabolic, immune, and neurological diseases across sexes. However, despite the existence of sex differences in patients with human diseases, treatment guidelines predominantly rely on male data due to the underrepresentation of women in clinical trials. At present, there exists a substantial knowledge gap concerning sex-specific mechanisms and clinical treatments for diverse diseases. Therefore, this review aims to elucidate the advances of sex differences on human diseases by examining epidemiological factors, pathogenesis, and innovative progress of clinical treatments in accordance with the distinctive risk characteristics of each disease and provide a new theoretical and practical basis for further optimizing individualized treatment and improving patient prognosis.