Sex and Gender in Ageing and Longevity: Highlights From an International Course

Giuseppina Candore; Giulia Accardi; Anna Aiello; Giovannella Baggio; Tiziana Bellini; Vittorio Calabrese; Anna P Carreca; Ignazio Carreca; Anna Masucci; Monica Cattaneo; Serena Dato; Danilo Di Bona; Luca Fabris; Caterina Gambino; Gabriele Di Lorenzo; Claudio Franceschi; Mattia E Ligotti; Maria C Manfrinato; Annibale A Puca; Martina Tamburello; Roberta Vassallo; Calogero Caruso

doi:10.37825/2239-9747.1049

Sex and Gender in Ageing and Longevity: Highlights From an International Course

Transl Med UniSa. 2024 Feb 27;26(1):15-29. doi: 10.37825/2239-9747.1049. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Giuseppina Candore^{1

2}, Giulia Accardi¹, Anna Aiello¹, Giovannella Baggio³, Tiziana Bellini^{4

5}, Vittorio Calabrese⁶, Anna P Carreca⁷, Ignazio Carreca⁸, Anna Masucci^{2

9}, Monica Cattaneo¹⁰, Serena Dato¹¹, Danilo Di Bona¹², Luca Fabris^{3

13

14}, Caterina Gambino^{2

9}, Gabriele Di Lorenzo¹⁵, Claudio Franceschi^{16

17}, Mattia E Ligotti¹⁸, Maria C Manfrinato^{4

5}, Annibale A Puca^{10

19}, Martina Tamburello^{2

9}, Roberta Vassallo^{2

9}, Calogero Caruso¹

Affiliations

¹ Laboratory of Immunopathology and Immunosenescence, Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
² Department of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital "P.Giaccone", Palermo, Italy.
³ Italian Center for Studies on Gender Health and Medicine, Padua University-Hospital, Padua, Italy.
⁴ University Center for Studies on Gender Medicine, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
⁵ Department of Neuroscience and Rehabilitation, University of Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy.
⁶ Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Italy.
⁷ Ri.MED Foundation, Palermo, Italy.
⁸ Section of Medical Oncology, Department of Surgical, Oncological and Oral Sciences, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
⁹ Department of Biomedicine, Neurosciences and Advanced Diagnostics, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
¹⁰ Cardiovascular Department, IRCCS MultiMedica, Milan, Italy.
¹¹ Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Calabria, Rende, Italy.
¹² Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Foggia, Foggia, Italy.
¹³ Department of Medicine, University of Padua, Padua, Italy.
¹⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, Digestive Disease Section, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Health Promotion Sciences, Maternal and Infant Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, Palermo, Italy.
¹⁶ Institute of Information Technologies, Mathematics and Mechanics, Lobachevsky State University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
¹⁷ Institute of Biogerontology, Lobachevsky State University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia.
¹⁸ Department of Research, ISMETT-IRCCS Mediterranean Institute for Transplants and Highly Specialized Therapies, Palermo, Italy.
¹⁹ Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Salerno, Italy.

Abstract

Gender medicine is a multidisciplinary science and represents an important perspective for pathophysiological and clinical studies in the third millennium. Here, it is provided an overview of the topics discussed in a recent course on the Role of Sex and Gender in Ageing and Longevity. The paper highlights three themes discussed in the course, i.e., the interaction of gender/sex with, i) the pathophysiology of age-related diseases; ii), the role of genetics and epigenetics in ageing and longevity and, iii) the immune responses of older people to pathogens, vaccines, autoantigens, and allergens. Although largely unexplored, it is clear that sex and gender are modulators of disease biology and treatment outcomes. It is becoming evident that men and women should no longer be considered as subgroups, but as biologically distinct groups of patients deserving consideration for specific therapeutic approaches.

Keywords: Age-related diseases; Ageing; Epigenetics; Gender; Genetics; Immune responses longevity; Sex.

Publication types

Review