Title:The Interaction Between Gender and Diabetes Mellitus in the Coronary Heart Disease Risk
Volume: 22
Issue: 25
Author(s): Evangelos Oikonomou, Vasiliki Tsigkou, George Lazaros, Georgios Angelos Papamikroulis, Spyridon Papaioannou, Gerasimos Siasos and Dimitris Tousoulis
Affiliation:
Keywords:
Atherosclerosis, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, cardiovascular risk, gender differences, therapeutic targets.
Abstract: Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) despite the advances in medical
management keeps on as the primary cause of morbidity and mortality for both genders in
Western societies. Sex differences though modify the clinical picture as well as the effectiveness
of treatment.
Methods and Results: In this literature review article we searched publications in Englishlanguage
on MEDLINE and the Cochrane Database from the beginning of the databases to
January 2016. Among the specific key words and phrases we used were Diabetes Mellitus;
Gender; Coronary artery disease; Stroke and Cardiovascular disease. Various studies have
found that diabetic women have increased risk of coronary heart disease than their male
counterparts; however, further research into this field has questioned this finding and there is
much controversy among many researchers. Women have a different risk factor profile, are
usually treated less effectively than men, and have a variance in the levels of sex hormones
throughout their life which complicate the study and understanding of the mechanisms involved in insulin resistance,
diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular risk profile.
Conclusion: The connection between diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease is variable according to gender
and further studies are needed to elucidate the lenient differentiations in gender specific hormones, risk factor
profile, and therapeutic implications between genders.
