Gender Differences in Hypertension

Gender and chronic kidney disease in ankylosing spondylitis: a single-center retrospectively study

BACKGROUND

Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is a well-known male-predominant inflammatory disease. This study aimed to assess the gender disparity in chronic kidney disease (CKD) in AS patients in China.

METHODS

AS patients were retrospectively studied at Peking Union Medical College hospital between January 2002 and June 2018.

RESULTS

Among 616 patients with AS, 154 (25.0%) patients had CKD (age, 41.8 ± 14.2 years; male:female, 3.2:1). Overall, 80 (13.0%) patients had only microscopic hematuria, 62 (10.1%) had proteinuria with or without hematuria, and 33 (5.4%) exhibited a reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR, ≤60 mL/min/1.73 m²). Male CKD patients had more frequent proteinuria (p < 0.01), less microscopic hematuria only (p < 0.01), and lower eGFR (p = 0.04) compared with females. CKD was independently associated with hyperuricemia and total cholesterol in females, and with hyperuricemia, hypertension, and serum albumin in males. After follow-up for 1-7 years, five patients required renal replacement therapy including two patients who were already at stage 5 CKD when enrolled and three patients whose creatinine doubled. One patient died in the male group. No patients in the female group showed progression of renal dysfunction.

CONCLUSIONS

CKD is a common comorbidity in patients with AS. Male patients are more likely to develop severe manifestations compared with female patients. Hyperuricemia was a strong independent risk factor for CKD in both genders, while hypertension and low serum albumin were risk factors for CKD only in males.

Gender Differences in Cardiac Hypertrophy

Cardiac hypertrophy is an adaptive response to abnormal physiological and pathological stimuli, which can be classified into concentric and eccentric hypertrophy, induced by pressure overload or volume overload, respectively. In both physiological and pathological scenarios, females generally show a more favorable form of hypertrophy compared with their male counterparts. However once established, cardiac hypertrophy is a stronger risk factor for heart failure in females. Pre-menopausal women are better protected against cardiac hypertrophy compared with men, but this protection is abolished following menopause and is partially restored after estrogen replacement therapy. Estrogen exerts its protection by counteracting pro-hypertrophy signaling pathways, whereas androgen mostly plays an opposite role in cardiac hypertrophy. We here summarize the progress in the understanding of sexual dimorphisms in cardiac hypertrophy and highlight recent breakthroughs in the regulatory role of sex hormones and their intricate molecular networks, in order to shed light on gender-oriented therapeutic efficacy for pathological hypertrophy.