HEALTH & SCIENCE

Gender counts in muscle, bone care, studies say

Medical researchers are finding musculoskeletal differences between men and women that may change clinical practice.

By Susan J. Landers, AMNews staff. Aug. 15, 2005.

Washington -- Evidence continues to build indicating that sex matters in all aspects of health, including musculoskeletal health, and those differences go deep into the body's cells and molecules.

Yet sex-specific differences are rarely considered when treatment is provided for such common conditions as arthritis, osteoporosis and fractures, according to an article in the July Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.

The article was based on a four-day workshop held last year by the Women's Health Issues Committee of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases, and the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health.

Musculoskeletal problems account for a large number of visits to primary care physicians. It is also one area of medicine in which sex could most influence treatments and outcomes, according to research presented at the workshop.

Differences are seen in injury mechanism, pain sensation, drug actions and in rates of healing. And these differences can't be explained by hormones alone. Inherent biological variations at the cellular and molecular levels are at work, researchers said.

"This has major implications on how women and men should be treated pre- and postoperatively, not only in terms of prescribing medication types and dosages but also in terms of determining the appropriate level and frequency of analgesia and rehabilitation," said Laura Tosi, MD, former chair of the AAOS Women's Health Issues Committee and an organizer of the workshop.

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