Sex Differences in Drug Metabolization

        Just when I thought that it was already difficult being a female in the social realm, scientific research has brought yet another issue (a biological one) to the forefront concerning women's health as opposed to men's health in the use of sleep aids. In a recent study, the Food and Drug Administration experimented with a pill that would help people who suffered from waking up in the middle of the night, a pill that was meant to last a shorter period of time than a normal prescription would, which is around 8 hours after consumption. However, upon testing Intermezzo, a hypnotic drug used to offset the chemical imbalances found in those with sleeping problems (insomniacs), it was concluded that men had little appearance of the drug remaining in their system as opposed to their female counterparts. With these results, a smaller dosage (3.5 mg for men and 1.75 mg for women) was approved and prescribed by the F.D.A. As Dr. Janine Clayton of the National Institutes of Health states, "There are a lot of sex differences for a lot of drugs, some of which are well known and some that are not well recognized."
        Something that I found alarming was that the F.D.A. did not allow women of child-bearing age to be test subjects for experimental drugs until 1993; it was probably placed as a countermeasure for ethical reasons, but that's pretty recent! So when drugs such as aspirin and new forms of anesthesia were approved by the F.D.A. and released for public health care, many physicians and experts of the scientific community were on edge and skeptical as to what impact these drugs would have on women, and negative side effects were no surprise to be had. A gruesome statistic collected by the Government Accountability Office showed that 8 out of 10 drugs banned from the market between 1997 and 2000 posed as severe health risks for women. Women taking Seldane or Propulsid often experienced deadly heart arrhythmias at some point while on a regiment for either one of these medications. All in all, it looks like sleep aids are not the only "remedies" affecting women negatively today. But what are some of the reasons as to why there are such prominent differences in women than in men for drugs such as sedatives, antibiotics, anesthesia, and even alcohol? 

 

Studies have shown that women oftentimes have sedatives remaining in their systems upon waking up in comparison to men. This can lead to a continued state of drowsiness and pose as a hazard while doing everyday tasks, such as operating a vehicle.

Some reasons include that women tend to have more body fat in relation to men who tend to have more muscle, and because a majority of medications are largely water-based, they linger in the bloodstream and fat tissue for extended periods of time. Furthermore, women are also suspected of taking more drugs at a time than men are for illnesses such as high blood pressure as a result of going through menopause. The fact that women also menstruate and experience constant hormonal fluctuations also serve as other modes of reasoning. There are also biological gaps in kidney function and in the rates at which the liver metabolizes food in men and women.

        The bottom line is that there is a prominent difference with drugs and gender, and future testing in medication should take them seriously and into account no matter how big the test group needs to be. When it is a matter of life and potential lawsuits and recalls, these differences are definitely not worth the risk to ignore. 

-Radster



 Sources:

1) For the original article, "The Drug-Dose Gender Gap," published in the New York Times by Roni Caryn Rabin, click here.
2) For the actual study report written and conducted by the Government Accountability Office, click here.
3) For the image link, click here.