Reimann: Biological differences must be incorporated more into research and care

“Women should have equal rights and opportunities. However, there is one area in which equal treatment is not always desirable: medicine. Gender influences the functioning of the organism through genetic, epigenetic and hormonal factors. In addition, social gender plays a role that should not be underestimated in health behavior and access to health care. Gender differences can be reflected in the risk of disease, symptoms, response to therapy and the course of the disease. Studies show that women are treated less often and with a longer delay in the event of a heart attack and therefore have a worse prognosis. On the one hand, this is because women often show fewer characteristic symptoms, making a medical emergency more difficult to recognize. On the other hand, women tend to underestimate their symptoms and seek help later. This means that if they have a heart attack, they arrive at a clinic on average about an hour later than men of the same age group.

For a long time, medical research was predominantly focused on the male organism because women of childbearing age were less likely to be included in clinical studies. For example, it was only after the approval of various medications that it was discovered that they pose greater health risks for women than for men. The differences between the sexes must be taken into greater account in research and these findings must also be incorporated into medical training and care practice.”