A new study from the Australian National University says that women are up to 75% more likely than men to have terrible side effects from prescription drugs. But why?

A new study from The Australian National University found that women are up to 75% more likely than men to have bad reactions to prescription drugs. This is because women and men are different in many ways.

The study’s lead author, Dr. Laura Wilson, said that people used to think that these bad reactions were caused by differences in body weight, but that is not the case.

“Women are often prescribed drugs at the same dose as men despite having on average a lower body weight, meaning they often receive a higher relative dose,” remarks Dr. Wilson.

In this new study, they “analysed over two million data points, capturing over 300 traits in mice, a preclinical disease model, and it’s clear females aren’t just smaller versions of males. Meaning these drug reactions are unlikely to be alleviated by adjusting the dosage for body weight.

The findings of the study revealed “sex differences in many traits that cannot be explained by body weight. For example, iron levels and body temperature, morphology traits such as stored fat, and heart rate variability.”

Researchers say we know less about women and disease.

“Most biomedical research has been conducted on male cells or male animals. It has been assumed any results will apply to females as well,” adds Dr. Wilson.

“But we know men and women experience disease differently, including how diseases develop, the length and severity of symptoms and effectiveness of treatment options.”

Because of this, women often suffer more.

For example, as explained by Dr. Wilson, “crushing chest pain is often cited as a primary symptom of heart attack. While this might be common for men, it’s a much less common symptom for women. Women are more likely to experience intense nausea.”

“Our study could help clarify the nature of the differences in responses to certain drugs and provide a path forward to reducing drug reactions.”

Source: 10.1038/s41467-022-35266-6