Abstract
While there is considerable evidence about sex-related differences between men and women in drug metabolism, efficacy and safety of frequently prescribed drugs such as analgesics, tranquillizers, statins and beta-blockers, clinicians’ awareness of the implications on dosing and adverse event monitoring in routine practice is inadequate. Some drugs are more effective in men than women (e.g. ibuprofen) or vice versa (e.g. opioids, benzodiazepine), typically owing to pharmacodynamic causes. The 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptor 3 antagonist alosetron is approved for women only since it largely lacks efficacy in men. For statins, equal efficacy was demonstrated in secondary prevention of cardiovascular events, but primary prevention is still under debate. For some drugs (e.g. paracetamol, metoprolol), women are at significantly higher risk of adverse effects. Therefore, considering sex-specific features in clinical trials and therapeutic guidelines is warranted to ensure efficacy and safety of medicines.
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André Farkouh, Thomas Riedl, Roman Gottardi, Martin Czejka and Alexandra Kautzky-Willer declare no conflicts of interest in this work. The authors do not have any commercial or proprietary interest in the products discussed or their respective companies.
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Farkouh, A., Riedl, T., Gottardi, R. et al. Sex-Related Differences in Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Frequently Prescribed Drugs: A Review of the Literature. Adv Ther 37, 644–655 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12325-019-01201-3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12325-019-01201-3