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Sex Hormones, Sex, Gender, and Pulmonary Hypertension

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Gender, Sex Hormones and Respiratory Disease

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Abstract

Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a devastating disease of the pulmonary vasculature resulting in right ventricular failure and death. PAH may occur as a primary disease or in association with a diverse range of diseases. While a skewed gender ratio with significantly more females diagnosed than males is common in PAH, other forms of PH more broadly do not have a pronounced sexual dimorphism. While more females are diagnosed with PAH, recent epidemiologic data suggest that survival among females is better than males, especially compared to older male patients. The mechanisms of the sex-related variations in phenotype are incompletely understood, but likely involve variation in response to parent compound sex hormones and their metabolites.

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Sources of Support and Conflicts of Interest

This work was supported in part by NIH grant K23 HL 098743 (PI: EDA). The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Medicine, Division of Allergy, Pulmonary, and Critical Care Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Nashville, TN, USA

    Xinping (Peter) Chen PhD

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Pulmonary Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, Suite DD-2205, Vanderbilt Medical Center North, Nashville, TN, 37232-2578, USA

    Eric D. Austin MD, MSCI

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  1. Xinping (Peter) Chen PhD
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Correspondence to Eric D. Austin MD, MSCI .

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  1. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

    Anna R. Hemnes

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Chen, X.(., Austin, E.D. (2016). Sex Hormones, Sex, Gender, and Pulmonary Hypertension. In: Hemnes, A. (eds) Gender, Sex Hormones and Respiratory Disease. Respiratory Medicine. Humana Press, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23998-9_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-23998-9_5

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