Molecular mechanisms and functional significance

Sex differences exist between men and woman not only in epidemiology, clinical manifestation, pathophysiology, treatment and outcomes but in the development of different diseases. These differences could be explained not only by biological/sex differences (i.e. chromosomes, hormones) between men and women but also by the gender differences that depend on the interaction of the individual with the environment and society (I.e. society, lifestyle, nutrition, different forms of stress, dust, and heat). Overall all these factors together lead to epigenetic modifications in the developing fetus, the child, and the adult that in turn can be transmitted through the germline and affect the development of disease 1, 2. Sex and gender effects are frequently interrelated and interact in many diseases.