Psychoneuroendocrinology
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Psychoneuroendocrinology · Feb 2006
ReviewThe effects of sex and hormonal status on the physiological response to acute psychosocial stress.
Whether one is male or female is one of the most important determinants of human health. While males are more susceptible to cardiovascular and infectious disease, they are outnumbered by women for many autoimmune disorders, fibromyalgia and chronic pain. Recently, individual differences in the physiological response to stress have emerged as a potentially important risk factor for these disorders. ⋯ The pronounced and multi-faceted sex differences in stress responsiveness suggest that they are a product of a strong evolutionary pressure. We hypothesise that this has to a great deal been driven by the need to protect the fetus from the adverse effects of maternal stress responses, in particular excess glucocorticoid exposure. Studying this hypothesis may have a fundamental impact on our understanding about how adult health is set during early life and how adult disease could be prevented in men and women.