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Determination of Biofilm Initiation on Virus-infected Cells by Bacteria and Fungi
Published on: July 6, 2016
Let's talk about sex characteristics-As a risk factor for invasive fungal diseases
Matthias Egger1, Martin Hoenigl1,2,3, George R Thompson4,5,6
1Division of Infectious Diseases, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
Abstract:
Biological sex, which comprises differences in host sex hormone homeostasis and immune responses, can have a substantial impact on the epidemiology of infectious diseases. Comprehensive data on sex distributions in invasive fungal diseases (IFDs) are lacking. In this review, we performed a literature search of in vitro/animal studies, clinical studies, systematic reviews and meta-analyses of invasive fungal infections. Females represented 51.2% of invasive candidiasis cases, mostly matching the proportions of females among the general population in the United States and Europe (>51%). In contrast, other IFDs were overrepresented in males, including invasive aspergillosis (51% males), mucormycosis (60%), cryptococcosis (74%), coccidioidomycosis (70%), histoplasmosis (61%) and blastomycosis (66%). Behavioural variations, as well as differences related to biological sex, may only in part explain these findings. Further investigations concerning the association between biological sex/gender and the pathogenesis of IFDs are warranted.
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