Dataset Information

Sex and Gender Driven Modifiers of Alzheimer's: The Role for Estrogenic Control Across Age, Race, Medical, and Lifestyle Risks.

ABSTRACT: Research indicates that after advanced age, the major risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) is female sex. Out of every three AD patients, two are females with postmenopausal women contributing to over 60% of all those affected. Sex- and gender-related differences in AD have been widely researched and several emerging lines of evidence point to different vulnerabilities that contribute to dementia risk. Among those being considered, it is becoming widely accepted that gonadal steroids contribute to the gender disparity in AD, as evidenced by the "estrogen hypothesis." This posits that sex hormones, 17?-estradiol in particular, exert a neuroprotective effect by shielding females' brains from disease development. This theory is further supported by recent findings that the onset of menopause is associated with the emergence of AD-related brain changes in women in contrast to men of the same age. In this review, we discuss genetic, medical, societal, and lifestyle risk factors known to increase AD risk differently between the genders, with a focus on the role of hormonal changes, particularly declines in 17?-estradiol during the menopause transition (MT) as key underlying mechanisms.

SUBMITTER: Rahman A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6872493 | biostudies-literature | 2019

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Sex and Gender Driven Modifiers of Alzheimer's: The Role for Estrogenic Control Across Age, Race, Medical, and Lifestyle Risks.

Rahman Aneela A Jackson Hande H Hristov Hollie H Isaacson Richard S RS Saif Nabeel N Shetty Teena T Etingin Orli O Henchcliffe Claire C Brinton Roberta Diaz RD Mosconi Lisa L

Frontiers in aging neuroscience 20191115

Research indicates that after advanced age, the major risk factor for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) is female sex. Out of every three AD patients, two are females with postmenopausal women contributing to over 60% of all those affected. Sex- and gender-related differences in AD have been widely researched and several emerging lines of evidence point to different vulnerabilities that contribute to dementia risk. Among those being considered, it is becoming widely accepted that gonadal stero ...[more]

PMID: 31803046

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Project description:BackgroundIn 2012, over half of US medical students experienced burnout and depression. Since that time, there have been many changes to student demographics, school resources and awareness of burnout in the medical field altogether. New tools are also available to screen for student distress, a condition that correlates with low mental quality-of-life, suicidal ideation and serious thoughts of dropping out. Despite increased attention on wellbeing and improved screening methods, no large-scale studies have evaluated student distress in the modern era of medical education. The objective of this study was to determine the current prevalence of medical student distress and contributing risk factors.MethodsStudent wellbeing from a national cohort of US medical students was measured with an electronic survey in a prospective, observational survey study from 2019-2020. Medical student distress was defined as a Medical Student Wellbeing Index (MS-WBI) of ≥4. Demographic details including age, race, gender, marital status, disability, desired specialty, and debt burden were evaluated in a multivariate logistic regression model to determine possible risk factors for the development of distress.ResultsA total of 3,162 students responded to the survey, representing 110 unique medical schools. Of these respondents, 52.9% met criteria for distress and 22% had either taken or considered taking a leave of absence for personal wellbeing. Independent risk factors for distress included involvement in the clinical phase of medical school (OR 1.37); non-male gender (OR 1.6); debt burden >$20,000 (OR 1.37), >$100,000 (OR 1.81), and >$300,000 (OR 1.96); and disability status (OR 1.84).ConclusionsMedical student wellbeing remains poor in the modern era of medical education despite increased attention to wellbeing and increased availability of wellbeing resources. Disability status is a novel risk factor for distress identified in this study. The persistence of previously identified risk factors such as non-male gender, debt burden and clinical phase of school suggest that efforts to curb medical student distress have been inadequate to date.

Project description:BackgroundEmergency medicine (EM) residents do not generally receive sex- and gender-specific education. There will be increasing attention to this gap as undergraduate medical education integrates it within their curriculum.MethodologyMembers of the Sex and Gender in Emergency Medicine (SGEM) Interest Group set out to develop a SGEM toolkit and pilot integrating developed components at multiple residency sites. The curriculum initiative involved a pre- and posttraining assessment that included basic demographics and queries regarding previous training in sex-/gender-based medicine (SGBM). It was administered to PGY-1 to -4 residents who participated in a 3-hour training session that included one small group case-based discussion, two oral board cases, and one simulation and group debriefing.AnalysisComponents of the developed toolkit (https://www.sexandgenderhealth.org) were implemented at four unique SGEM Interest Group member residency programs. Residents (n = 82/174, 47%) participated; 64% (n = 49) were male and 36% (n = 28) were female. Twenty-six percent (n = 21) of the residents reported that they had less than 1 hour of training in this domain during residency; 59% (n = 48) reported they had 1 to 6 hours and 16% (n = 13) reported they had >6 hours. The average preassessment score was 61% and postassessment was 88%. After training, 74% (n = 60) felt that their current practice would have benefited from further training in sex-/gender-based topics in medicine during medical school and 83% (n = 67) felt their clinical practice would have benefited from further training in this domain during residency.ImplicationsThe majority of EM residents who participated in this training program reported that they had limited instruction in this domain in medical school or residency. This initiative demonstrated a method that can be emulated for the incorporation of SGBM educational components into an EM residency training educational day. After training, the majority of residents who participated felt that their current practice would have benefited from further training in sex- and gender-based topics in residency.

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Dataset Information

Sex and Gender Driven Modifiers of Alzheimer's: The Role for Estrogenic Control Across Age, Race, Medical, and Lifestyle Risks.

Publications

Sex and Gender Driven Modifiers of Alzheimer's: The Role for Estrogenic Control Across Age, Race, Medical, and Lifestyle Risks.

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