Sex/Gender-Specific Imbalance in CVD: Could Physical Activity Help to Improve Clinical Outcome Targeting CVD Molecular Mechanisms in Women?

Abstract

In the last two decades, new insights have been gained regarding sex/gender-related differences in cardiovascular disease (CVD). CVD represents the leading cause of death worldwide in both men and women, accounting for at least one-third of all deaths in women and half of deaths in women over 50 years in developing countries. Important sex-related differences in prevalence, presentation, management, and outcomes of different CVDs have been recently discovered, demonstrating sex/gender-specific pathophysiologic features in the presentation and prognosis of CVD in men and women. A large amount of evidence has highlighted the role of sex hormones in protecting women from CVDs, providing an advantage over men that is lost when women reach the menopause stage. This hormonal-dependent shift of sex-related CVD risk consequently affects the overall CVD epidemiology, particularly in light of the increasing trend of population aging. The benefits of physical activity have been recognized for a long time as a powerful preventive approach for both CVD prevention and aging-related morbidity control. Exercise training is indeed a potent physiological stimulus, which reduces primary and secondary cardiovascular events. However, the underlying mechanisms of these positive effects, including from a sex/gender perspective, still need to be fully elucidated. The aim of this work is to provide a review of the evidence linking sex/gender-related differences in CVD, including sex/gender-specific molecular mediators, to explore whether sex- and gender-tailored physical activity may be used as an effective tool to prevent CVD and improve clinical outcomes in women.

Could Physical Activity Have any Role in Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Prisoners? A Systematic Review

“…In the last two decades, new evidence demonstrated sex/gender-related differences in CVD, highlighting the role of sex hormones in protecting women from CVDs and providing an advantage over men that is lost when women reach the menopause stage. This hormonal-dependent shift of sex-related CVD risk affects overall CVD epidemiology, particularly in light of the increasing trend of population aging [ 2 ]. Moreover, according to Plugge and coworkers [ 46 ], women in lower-income groups have higher CVD risk and report higher rates of cigarette smoking, lower consumption of fruit and vegetables, higher fat diet, and less total PA than women in higher-income or social groups.…”

“…In 2016, 17.9 million people died from CVDs. CVD represents 31% of all deaths; moreover, heart attack and stroke are the leading cause of death from CVD [ 2 ].WHO also reported that around 55% of the adult population were physically inactive. This percentage likely increases among the prison population.…”

“…Recent evidence demonstrated that differences in modifiable cardiovascular risk factors might mediate this effect, significantly modulating inflammatory signaling pathways involved in atherosclerosis. Moreover, exercise training is a potent stimulus that could control and decrease primary and secondary cardiovascular events [ 2 , 10 , 11 ]. It is now clear that it is possible to prevent most cardiovascular diseases by addressing behavioral risk factors such as tobacco use, unhealthy diet and obesity, physical inactivity, and harmful alcohol habit using populatio{Citation}n-wide strategies.…”

Lipidomic Signatures of Changes in Adiposity: A Large Prospective Study of 5849 Adults from the Australian Diabetes, Obesity and Lifestyle Study

“…There is a growing interest in sex-dimorphism particularly for those disorders associated with metabolic perturbations. There is a sex-specificity in the risk of CVD [ 45 , 46 ] and lipid metabolism in obesity [ 43 , 47 ]. Such differences in disease risk are potentially reflected in metabolic profiles.…”

Exploring the Social Networks’ Use in the Health-Care Industry: A Multi-Level Analysis

“…They include open social networks (e.g., Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, Instagram) which have not been designed for health-related interactions, as well as intentionally designed social networks (e.g., PatientsLikeMe, Mumsnet, TreatmentAction Campaign, My Pro Ana) with an explicit interest in health and health behaviors [ 5 ]. Whether they are open or intentionally designed social networks, online communities are likely to increase knowledge about health and even influence the health status of people [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ]. For example, it has been demonstrated that social ties in the virtual environment reduce risks of depression among the elderly and boosts their self-confidence [ 9 ].…”