Sex Differences in Schizophrenia Across the Reproductive Lifespan.

Sex Difference in Clinical and Management Outcomes in Patients With Takotsubo Syndrome: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BackgroundThere is uncertainty surrounding the differences in outcomes after intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH) between men and women. This study aimed to investigate the sex differences in clinical characteristics, severity and outcomes of Chinese ICH patients.MethodsThe Nanjing First Hospital stroke registry was a hospital-based registry of stroke patients with 1-year prospective follow-up. From 2004 to 2008, a total of 651 consecutively recruited patients with acute ICH were enrolled. Primary outcome was death or dependency defined as a modified Rankin Scale score of 3–6 at 12 months. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to determine whether there were sex differences in clinical outcomes after ICH. Clinically important and biologically plausible risk factors of death or dependency were selected from available variables.ResultsA total of 615 ICH patients were enrolled. There was no significant difference in age (63.5 ± 14.0 vs. 62.7 ± 12.7, p = 0.500) between women and men. At baseline, men were more likely to be current smokers (46.1% vs. 3.6%, P < 0.001) or current drinkers (35.4% vs. 3.6%, P < 0.001), but women had higher admission National Institute of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) scores than men (10 vs. 8, P = 0.039). Women also had higher rates of death or dependency at 3, 6, and 12 months (61.2% vs. 46.8%, P = 0.001; 56.7% vs. 45.3%, P = 0.009; and 51.8% vs. 44.1%, P = 0.065; respectively). After adjustment for age, existing hypertension and diabetes, prior stroke, previous ischemic heart disease, previous atrial fibrillation, current smoking and alcohol consumption status, pre-stroke dependency, onset-to-door time, admission NIHSS score, admission systolic blood pressure and location of bleeding, the association between the female gender and death or dependency remained statistical significant at 3 months [odds ratio (OR): 1.76; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.07-2.89], but did not reach statistical significance at 6 months (OR: 1.59; 95% CI: 0.99-2.54) and 12 months (OR: 1.22; 95% CI: 0.77-1.95).ConclusionsIn a Chinese population, women are more likely to be dead or dependent early after ICH than men. However, this gender difference gradually attenuates over the period of 12 months.

Sex Differences in Outcomes After Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage Among Patients With Low Total Cholesterol Levels

Social Disconnection in Late Life Mental Illness – Commentary From the National Institute of Mental Health

Acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is an important cause of mortality and morbidity in the general population. Recent advances in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and optimal medical treatment have helped to improve the prognosis of patients with ACS. The previous reports indicated that women with ACS have a higher risk of adverse outcomes. However, sex differences in clinical outcomes with contemporary coronary revascularization and medical therapy for ACS have not been elucidated. We analyzed data from 676 consecutive patients with ACS (female, n=166; male, n=510) who were treated by emergency PCI between 2011 and 2014 at Juntendo Shizuoka Hospital. The patients were grouped according to sex. We defined major adverse cardiovascular events as a composite of all-cause death and ACS recurrence at 1year and compared rates of major adverse cardiac events (MACE) between the groups. Women were older (75.4±11.0 vs. 66.2±12.2years) and had a higher rate of multi-vessel disease, chronic kidney disease, and Killip IV at presentation. The cumulative rate of MACE at 1year was significantly higher among women than men (17.5 vs. 10.2%, p=0.02, log-rank test). However, the association between women and a higher risk of MACE was attenuated after adjusting for age (HR 1.25, 95% CI 0.77-2.00, p=0.36) and other variables (HR 0.93, 95% CI 0.36-2.44, p=0.88). Adjustment for age and other risk factors attenuated sex differences in mid-term clinical outcomes among patients with ACS after emergency PCI.

Background: Although a better survival rate in women than in men has been reported in heart failure (HF) with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF), the sex-specific prognosis has scarcely been addressed in HF with preserved EF (HFpEF). Thus, this study investigated the sex difference in clinical outcomes in patients with HFpEF, as well as in those with HFrEF. Materials and Methods: We studied clinical outcomes of 2,572 hospitalized patients due to HF (66.8 ± 14.4 years, 49.7% women) in the Korean Heart Failure Registry. Patients were divided into two groups by left ventricular EF (LVEF): HFpEF (LVEF ≥50%, n = 764) and HFrEF (LVEF <40%, n = 1,808) groups. Results: During a median follow-up of 1,121 days, there were 693 (28.7%) deaths and 1,073 (44.5%) composite events (death and HF readmission). There were no sex differences in the incidence of death or composite events during follow-up in both HFrEF and HFpEF groups (p > 0.05 for each). In 1:1 age-matched population (n = 1,005 in each sex), the long-term mortality was significantly lower in women than men in HFrEF group (p = 0.005), but not in HFpEF group (p = 0.786), while the incidences of composite events were similar between sex irrespective of LVEF (p > 0.05). However, there were no significant associations between sex and clinical outcomes in multivariable analysis (p > 0.05 for each). Conclusions: Sex per se was not the significant factor determining long-term clinical outcomes in HF patients regardless of the LVEF.

BackgroundSex differences in clinical characteristics and prognosis of vasospastic angina (VA) have not been well elucidated. This study was performed to investigate sex-specific characteristics and predictors for long-term clinical outcomes in patients with VA.MethodsWe analyzed 1838 patients (55 years and 62% male) who were diagnosed with definite (n = 680) or intermediate (n = 1212) VA in ergonovine provocation test from a nation-wide VA registry. The primary study end-point was composite events including cardiac death, acute coronary syndrome, ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation, and atrioventricular block during clinical follow-up.ResultsMale patients were younger, and there were more smokers and alcohol drinkers in male patients than in female patients. During the median follow-up period of 760 days (interquartile range, 336–1105 days), there were 73 cases (3.97%) of composite events. There was no sex difference in the occurrence of composite events (log-rank p = 0.649). Concomitant significant (≥ 50%) organic coronary stenosis was associated with worse clinical outcomes in both male (hazard ration [HR], 1.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01–3.85; p = 0.047) and female (HR, 3.26; 95% CI, 1.07–9.89; p = 0.037) patients. Obesity (body mass index ≥ 25 kg/m2) was associated with better prognosis in female VA patients (HR, 0.22; 95% CI, 0.07–0.68; p = 0.008). Even when only patients with definite diagnosis of VA were considered, there was no significant sex difference in clinical outcomes (log-rank p = 0.876).ConclusionsIn VA patients, there were several different clinical characteristics according to sex; however, long-term clinical outcome was similar between sexes. Significant organic coronary stenosis in both sexes and low body mass index (< 25 kg/m2) in females were associated with worse prognosis in VA patients.

Schizophrenia (SCZ) shortens life expectancy, with cardiovascular disease (CVD) as the leading cause of death. The links between psychiatric symptoms, cognitive function and CVD are unclear, and sex differences in this relationship are understudied. This study examined the relationship between clinical characteristics and 10-year cardiovascular risk in males and females with SCZ. This study included 802 patients with chronic SCZ. Fasting venous blood samples were collected from all patients to measure relevant glycolipid metabolic indices. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) was used to assess psychiatric symptoms. Cognitive function was evaluated using the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS). The Framingham risk score (FRS) was used to estimate the 10-year CVD risk. The mean 10-year cardiovascular risk for all patients was 11.76 ± 8.99%. Among patients with SCZ, 52.8% exhibited an intermediate-high 10-year cardiovascular risk. Multivariate linear regression analysis showed that FRS increased with higher body mass index, blood pressure, glucose, total cholesterol and triglyceride levels, while it was inversely related to high density lipoprotein levels. The general psychopathological scores were negatively associated with FRS (male: B = -0.086, P = 0.013; female: B = -0.056, P = 0.039). Negative symptom (B = -0.088, P = 0.024) and total PANSS scores (B = -0.042, P = 0.013) showed a negative association with FRS only in males. Additionally, in patients over 60years old, general psychopathology (B = -0.168, P = 0.001) and PANSS total scores (B = -0.057, P = 0.041) were associated with reduced FRS, while immediate memory (B = 0.073, P = 0.025) was associated with higher FRS. Patients with SCZ have an elevated risk of developing CVD, with males showing a higher 10-year cardiovascular risk than females. Significant sex differences exist in the relationship between the FRS and psychiatric symptoms, with negative symptoms being negatively related to FRS only in males.

Background A growing body of evidence suggests potential sex differences in the clinical outcomes of COVID-19. In this study we evaluated whether sex and baseline clinical variables were associated with treatment effect after receipt of immunomodulators vs placebo in a study population derived from ACTIV-1 IM clinical trial. Methods ACTIV-1 IM is a master protocol that evaluated infliximab, abatacept and cenicriviroc in addition to standard of care in adult patients hospitalized with moderate or severe SARS-CoV-2 infection through randomized, double-blind comparisons to shared placebo. We performed a subgroup analysis of the modified intention-to-treat cohort. Primary outcome was association of sex with time-to-recovery at day 28, key secondary outcomes were 28-day mortality and clinical status at day 14. Results A total of 1381 participants were included. There was no difference in treatment effect for primary endpoint of time-to-recovery based on sex for infliximab (RRR 1.14, 95% CI 0.95-1.37 for males and RRR 1.09, 95% CI 0.90-1.34 for females with interaction p=0.77), abatacept (RRR 1.14, 95% CI 0.95–1.37 for males and RRR 1.13, 95% CI 0.91-1.40 for females with interaction p=0.93) or cenicriviroc (RRR 0.99, 95% CI 0.79–1.24 for males, RRR 0.98, 95% CI 0.77-1.24 for females, interaction p=0.93) substudies. There was no difference in treatment effect by sex for secondary outcomes for infliximab and abatacept substudies. The cenicriviroc substudy was terminated early for futility and found no difference in treatment effects based on sex for secondary outcomes either. Conclusion There was no difference in treatment effect for infliximab, abatacept or cenicriviroc among males vs females. This suggests a more complex interplay of pathogen and host factors deserving further research to identify therapeutic targets for COVID-19. Disclosures Radica Alicic, MD, MSc, Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals, Inc.: Advisor/Consultant Caryn Morse, MD, Gilead Sciences Inc.: Grant/Research Support|Janssen: Grant/Research Support|Laurent Pharma: Grant/Research Support|Moderna: Grant/Research Support|Ridgeback Bio: Grant/Research Support William G. Powderly, MD, Merck: Advisor/Consultant

Focus on Geriatric Psychiatry: Schizophrenia in Later Life: Clinical Symptoms and Social Well-being

The number of persons aged 55 and older with a diagnosis of schizophrenia is projected to double over the next 20 years. A tripartite classification system of early-onset schizophrenia, late-onset schizophrenia, and very-late-onset schizophrenia-like psychosis has been proposed. This column reviews recent findings on the outcome and associated features of clinical symptom and social well-being categories for older adults with early-onset schizophrenia.

Interrelationships between depressive symptoms and positive and negative symptoms of recent onset schizophrenia spectrum disorders: A network analytical approach

Objective: The objective of this srudy was to test the hypothesis that males with schizophrenia have more negative symptom and females with schi::ophrenia have more depressive symptoms. Previous studies examining gender differences in negative and depressive symptoms in schizophrenia have been inconclusive, being limited by rerro pecrive _design and lack of suirable assessment instruments. Method: A consecutive series of 113 consenting inpatients meeting DSM-III-R criteria for schizophrenia (45 females, 68 males) were assessed using reliable measures of depression and negative symptoms. Negative Symptoms were assessed by the Pos irive and Negative Syndrome Scale and depression by the Calgary Depression Scale/or Schi::ophrenia. inety-two of the subjects were reassessed 3 months later. Results: There were no differences in levels of negative or depressive symptoms between men and women. Conclusions: Within the limitations of the study, the res ults do not support the hypothesis of sex differences in negative and depressive symptoms in schizophrenia.

Schizophrenia is frequently a chronic and disabling disorder, characterized by heterogeneous positive and negative symptom constellations. The objective of this review was to provide information that may be useful for clinicians treating patients with negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Negative symptoms are a core component of schizophrenia that account for a large part of the long-term disability and poor functional outcomes in patients with the disorder. The term negative symptoms describes a lessening or absence of normal behaviors and functions related to motivation and interest, or verbal/emotional expression. The negative symptom domain consists of five key constructs: blunted affect, alogia (reduction in quantity of words spoken), avolition (reduced goal-directed activity due to decreased motivation), asociality, and anhedonia (reduced experience of pleasure). Negative symptoms are common in schizophrenia; up to 60% of patients may have prominent clinically relevant negative symptoms that require treatment. Negative symptoms can occur at any point in the course of illness, although they are reported as the most common first symptom of schizophrenia. Negative symptoms can be primary symptoms, which are intrinsic to the underlying pathophysiology of schizophrenia, or secondary symptoms that are related to psychiatric or medical comorbidities, adverse effects of treatment, or environmental factors. While secondary negative symptoms can improve as a consequence of treatment to improve symptoms in other domains (ie, positive symptoms, depressive symptoms or extrapyramidal symptoms), primary negative symptoms generally do not respond well to currently available antipsychotic treatment with dopamine D2 antagonists or partial D2 agonists. Since some patients may lack insight about the presence of negative symptoms, these are generally not the reason that patients seek clinical care, and clinicians should be especially vigilant for their presence. Negative symptoms clearly constitute an unmet medical need in schizophrenia, and new and effective treatments are urgently needed.

Measurement of negative and depressive symptoms: Discriminatory relevance of affect and expression