Molecular Cardiology Research Institute, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Division of Cardiology, Department of Medicine, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
Br J Pharmacol. 2019 Nov;176(21):4208-4225. doi: 10.1111/bph.14624. Epub 2019 May 11.
Arterial stiffness progressively increases with aging and is an independent predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. Evidence supports that there are sex differences in the time course of aging-related arterial stiffness and the associated CVD risk, which increases disproportionately in postmenopausal women. The association between arterial stiffness and mortality is almost twofold higher in women versus men. The differential clinical characteristics of the development of arterial stiffness between men and women indicate the involvement of sex-specific mechanisms. This review summarizes the current literature on sex differences in vascular stiffness induced by aging, obesity, hypertension, and sex-specific risk factors as well as the impact of hormonal status, diet, and exercise on vascular stiffness in males and females. An understanding of the mechanisms driving sex differences in vascular stiffness has the potential to identify novel sex-specific therapies to lessen CVD risk, the leading cause of death in males and females. LINKED ARTICLES: This article is part of a themed section on The Importance of Sex Differences in Pharmacology Research. To view the other articles in this section visit http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v176.21/issuetoc.
动脉僵硬程度随着年龄的增长而逐渐增加，是心血管疾病（CVD）风险的独立预测因子。有证据表明，与年龄相关的动脉僵硬的时间进程和相关 CVD 风险在性别之间存在差异，绝经后女性的风险不成比例地增加。与男性相比，女性的动脉僵硬与死亡率之间的相关性高出近两倍。男性和女性之间动脉僵硬发展的临床特征差异表明存在特定于性别的机制。这篇综述总结了目前关于衰老、肥胖、高血压以及特定于性别的危险因素引起的血管僵硬的性别差异的文献，以及激素状态、饮食和运动对男性和女性血管僵硬的影响。了解导致血管僵硬性别差异的机制有可能确定新的特定于性别的治疗方法，以降低 CVD 风险，这是男性和女性的主要死亡原因。
本文是关于药理学研究中性别差异重要性的专题部分的一部分。要查看该部分中的其他文章，请访问 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bph.v176.21/issuetoc.
