Abstract

Sex Differences in Adverse Drug Reactions and Liver Disease

Adverse drug reactions represent a significant public health problem. Quite a few episodes of particularly severe drug reactions can even lead to the death of a patient. Furthermore, hepatitis induced by severe drug reactions is a rare but potentially fatal event. Although gender medicine is a relatively recent concept, it is now emerging as an important field of research, supported by the discovery that many diseases manifest differently in men and women and, therefore, may require different treatments. Sex-related differences in the epidemiology, progression and treatment strategies of some liver diseases have been known for some time, but most epidemiological and clinical studies still report results only on one sex, resulting in rates of response and adverse reactions to treatment among different men and women in clinical practice. This review reports the data present in the literature on gender differences for the most representative liver diseases.

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