Beyond women's health

Legato, Marianne J.

doi:10.1016/s0025-7125(03)00063-4

Cited by 33 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…In the words of the founding editor-in-chief of GM, ‘gender-specific medicine’ marks a shift away from ‘old school’ views of women's health as ‘a feminist…issue’ towards a science of biological sex differences) [39]. Thus Legato seems to regard socio-cultural influences on women's health as limited.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Conceptual Muddle: An Empirical Analysis of the Use of ‘Sex’ and ‘Gender’ in ‘Gender-Specific Medicine’ Journals

Hammarström

Annandale

2012

PLoS ONE

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BackgroundAt the same time as there is increasing awareness in medicine of the risks of exaggerating differences between men and women, there is a growing professional movement of ‘gender-specific medicine’ which is directed towards analysing ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ differences. The aim of this article is to empirically explore how the concepts of ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ are used in the new field of ‘gender-specific medicine’, as reflected in two medical journals which are foundational to this relatively new field.Method and Principal FindingsThe data consist of all articles from the first issue of each journal in 2004 and an issue published three years later (n = 43). In addition, all editorials over this period were included (n = 61). Quantitative and qualitative content analyses were undertaken by the authors.Less than half of the 104 papers used the concepts of ‘sex’ and ‘gender’. Less than 1 in 10 papers attempted any definition of the concepts. Overall, the given definitions were simple, unspecific and created dualisms between men and women. Almost all papers which used the two concepts did so interchangeably, with any possible interplay between ‘sex’ and gender’ referred to only in six of the papers.ConclusionThe use of the concepts of ‘sex’ and gender’ in ‘gender-specific medicine’ is conceptually muddled. The simple, dualistic and individualised use of these concepts increases the risk of essentialism and reductivist thinking. It therefore highlights the need to clarify the use of the terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ in medical research and to develop more effective ways of conceptualising the interplay between ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ in relation to different diseases.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Conceptual Muddle: An Empirical Analysis of the Use of ‘Sex’ and ‘Gender’ in ‘Gender-Specific Medicine’ Journals

Hammarström

Annandale

2012

PLoS ONE

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“…In 1997, Legato, a cardiologist at Columbia Medical School, asserted that the recognition of gender differences was very important in medical research and medical treatment and established a new medical concept called "genderspecific medicine" in which differences between males and females are researched [24]. Programs of gender difference and gender-specific education at medical centers and medical schools that apply the concept of gender difference in medical treatment are rapidly increasing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Gender-specific medicine still means women's health to all but the indoctrinated few, and many continue to view women's health as a feminist, commercial, or boutique issue more suited to marketing teams for hospital centers than to serious practitioners of medicine [24]. In the future, studies in gender-specific medicine may become vigorous in areas such as pharmacologic action of drugs; chromosomal body and genetic substance; hormones and the endocrine system, for which male and female differences are typically distinctive; adjustment of the biological function of the nervous system; various infections and degenerative diseases; metabolic diseases; tumors; psychiatric medicine; behavior; studies on emotion; environmental medicine; public health; and medical ethics.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlation between Metabolic Syndrome and Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms of Males and Females in the Aspect of Gender-Specific Medicine: A Single Institutional Study

et al. 2010

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PurposeWe attempted to examine the correlation between metabolic syndrome and lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) in the aspect of gender-specific medicine.Materials and MethodsA total of 922 patients participating in a health examination completed the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) questionnaire and the Overactive Bladder Questionnaire Short Form (OABq-SF) symptom bother scale from March 2008 to July 2009. Metabolic syndrome was defined by using the National Cholesterol Education Program Adult Treatment Panel III criteria announced in 2001. We analyzed differences in lower urinary tract symptoms according to the presence of metabolic syndrome and the component elements of metabolic syndrome.ResultsThe subjects were 538 males and 384 females with a mean age of 48.8±6.8 years. Among all patients, the number of patients with metabolic syndrome was 143 (15.5%); there were 110 males (20.4%) and 33 females (8.6%), showing a significant difference. There were no differences in scores on the IPSS or OABq-SF with respect to the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome in males. In females, however, there were significant differences in the IPSS and OABq-SF depending on the presence or absence of metabolic syndrome. In males and females, the IPSS total score was significantly correlated with age. Also, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in males and triglyceride in females was significantly correlated with the IPSS total score.ConclusionsThere are sex differences in the morbidity rate of metabolic syndrome and its effect on lower urinary tract symptoms. Therefore, it is necessary to consider gender-specific medicine in the diagnosis and treatment of LUTS.

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“…Gender medicine originated from specialty-specific, initially mostly cardiologic, research questions and analysis has been frequently performed in the context of a particular discipline. Research on sex and gender differences includes a range of different approaches, from basic science and etiopathogenetic research, to the analysis of differences in signs and symptoms, diagnostics and management [1-7]. …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis of sex and gender-specific research reveals a common increase in publications and marked differences between disciplines

Oertelt‐Prigione

Parol

Krohn

et al. 2010

BMC Med

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BackgroundThe incorporation of sex and gender-specific analysis in medical research is increasing due to pressure from public agencies, funding bodies, and the clinical and research community. However, generations of knowledge and publication trends in this discipline are currently spread over distinct specialties and are difficult to analyze comparatively.MethodsUsing a text-mining approach, we have analysed sex and gender aspects in research within nine clinical subspecialties - Cardiology, Pulmonology, Nephrology, Endocrinology, Gastroenterology, Haematology, Oncology, Rheumatology, Neurology - using six paradigmatic diseases in each one. Articles have been classified into five pre-determined research categories - Epidemiology, Pathophysiology, Clinical research, Management and Outcomes. Additional information has been collected on the type of study (human/animal) and the number of subjects included. Of the 8,836 articles initially retrieved, 3,466 (39%) included sex and gender-specific research and have been further analysed.ResultsLiterature incorporating sex/gender analysis increased over time and displays a stronger trend if compared to overall publication increase. All disciplines, but cardiology (22%), demonstrated an underrepresentation of research about gender differences in management, which ranges from 3 to 14%. While the use of animal models for identification of sex differences in basic research varies greatly among disciplines, studies involving human subjects are frequently conducted in large cohorts with more than 1,000 patients (24% of all human studies).ConclusionsHeterogeneity characterizes sex and gender-specific research. Although large cohorts are often analysed, sex and gender differences in clinical management are insufficiently investigated leading to potential inequalities in health provision and outcomes.

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Beyond women's health

Cited by 33 publications

References 39 publications

A Conceptual Muddle: An Empirical Analysis of the Use of ‘Sex’ and ‘Gender’ in ‘Gender-Specific Medicine’ Journals

A Conceptual Muddle: An Empirical Analysis of the Use of ‘Sex’ and ‘Gender’ in ‘Gender-Specific Medicine’ Journals

Correlation between Metabolic Syndrome and Lower Urinary Tract Symptoms of Males and Females in the Aspect of Gender-Specific Medicine: A Single Institutional Study

Analysis of sex and gender-specific research reveals a common increase in publications and marked differences between disciplines

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