Since they are tested only on men, the side effects of many drugs are greater in women. The 60 Millions de Consommateurs investigation
Double women depressed compared to men, anorexia in girls, autism in boys, 80% of autoimmune diseases in women. We could multiply the examples of these differences between men and women in the face of diseases.
However, ten years ago, the work of medical biology was done only on male laboratory animals. And, for a long time, the clinical studies that test the effectiveness and safety of the medicines have been conducted only on men, often young, white and healthy.
Gender differences not taken into consideration
Since it takes ten to fifteen years to develop a new drug before moving on clinical studies, most of the drugs that are taken today do not take into account gender differences. However, these differences exist and ignore them can have serious consequences. The test?
The collection made by the French magazine 60 Millions de Consommateurs of numerous studies shows that, on average, The risk of experimenting side effects has doubled in women.
In the book “C’est votre sexe here fait la différence”,published in 2023 by Editions Plon, Nicole Priollaud, specialist in institutional health communication, and the Genetica professor Claudine Junien observe:
Of the ten drugs withdrawn from the market between 1997 and 2000 in the United States, eight were withdrawn due to their serious side effects on women.
The statinsdrugs widely used to reduce cholesterol, they are a clear example: in menopause women, their use increases the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease by 71%. And this is just one of the many cases.
Side effects, gender differences
A 2022 study led by Annie-Pierre Jonville-Bera, of the University of Tours, has analyzed how some drugs have different effects between men and women. The results are clear:
- Cardiovascular drugs: They can cause potentially lethal heart arrhythmias. Out of 332 cases analyzed in 93 studies, 70% concerned female patients
- chemotherapy like 5-Fluorouracile: they cause more frequently in women nausea, diarrhea and a lowering of the immune defenses
- antidiabetic: the women who take them are more subject to headache, urinary and genital infections, and retention of liquids.
But why does this disparity exist? The answer is in scientific research.
A medicine designed for men
For decades, the drugs have been tested almost exclusively on men. Until a few years ago, medical biology studies were conducted on male animals and, in clinical experiments, only young, white and healthy men were enrolled.
The reason? It was believed that the male body was more “stable” from a hormonal point of view. A hypothesis now overcome: it has been discovered that, in male rodents, testosterone levels can vary up to five times, making them less reliable than females.
Since the development of a drug requires 10 to 15 years, many of the medicines today on the market do not yet take into account the biological differences between men and women.
HIV, depression and vaccines: tailor -made care for men
HIV therapies are another example of this inequality. According to a report by the Haute authorité de Santé (2020), the Tritherapy have more severe side effects in women, including:
- body deformations and masculinization signs
- early aging up to 15 years
- greater cardiovascular risk
Yet, despite the women represent 53% of people with HIV globally, in clinical trials their participation varies only between 15% and 30%.
The same goes for depression: tricyclic antidepressants are more effective in men, while selective inhibitors of serotonin recipient (SSRI) work better in women. In 2023, a team from the University of McGill identified significant genetic differences related to depression:
- 11 regions of DNA connected to depression in women
- 1 DNA region only in men
Even vaccines could be calibrated differently: the female immune system is more responsive, which is why women experience more intense side effects with some anticancer vaccines and drugs. According to Jean-Charles Guéry, geneticist and searchate of teacher, a half dose of flu or anti-crovid vaccine for women would be enough. But during the pandemic, only 5% of clinical studies analyzed separate data by gender.
A slow progress towards a more fair medicine
In 1977, the FDA excluded women of fertile from clinical trials after the scandals related to Talidomide and Distilbène, drugs that caused serious fetal malformations and genetic anomalies. Only in 1993 an American law obliged the inclusion of women in clinical studies, and only in 2014 the National Institutes of Health imposed parity in funding for research.
The data show a slow progress: the female presence in clinical trials went from 35% in 1995 to 58% in 2018 (WHO), while in France, in 2019, 88% of clinical studies included both sexes. However, often there is still no analysis of the data separated by gender.
The future goal? A truly personalized medicine, which takes into account female biological specificities to guarantee safer and more effective treatments for everyone.
