Sex matters for personalized care

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Personalized Medicine
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Sex as a basic biological variable is often overlooked in personalized treatment development.
• Sex significantly impacts human physiology and, consequently, patient responses to medical interventions.
• Current medical strategies frequently fail to account for sex-based differences, potentially leading to suboptimal outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review evidence demonstrating the influence of biological sex on patient outcomes.
• To identify methods for integrating sex-based evidence into clinical practice.
• To promote the development of sex-specific personalized medicine.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of studies examining sex-based differences in health and disease.
• Analysis of clinical data to identify patterns in patient outcomes related to sex.
• Synthesis of findings to propose actionable strategies for evidence-based, sex-specific care.

Main Results:

• Evidence confirms that biological sex significantly affects physiological processes and disease progression.
• Sex influences drug efficacy, adverse event profiles, and overall patient response to treatments.
• Disparities in healthcare outcomes between sexes are often linked to the neglect of sex as a biological variable.

Conclusions:

• Personalized treatment strategies must integrate biological sex as a core variable.
• Adopting sex-based approaches in medicine is crucial for improving patient outcomes and reducing health disparities.
• Further research and clinical guidelines are needed to facilitate sex-specific personalized care.