#sex-differences

#sex-differences

Researchers studying brain-imaging data from people aged between 8 and 100 found that sex differences in the brain's connections are minimal in early life, but then increase drastically at puberty; some of these differences continue to grow throughout adult life. The study was published as a preprint on bioRxiv, and has not yet been peer reviewed. The work could help us to understand why men and women have different likelihoods of developing some mental-health disorders - and perhaps give insight into treating them, say the researchers.

The findings of a study conducted on a sample of 2.7 million people in Sweden over a 35 year period, and published this Thursday in the medical journal BMJ, suggest that the male to female ratio of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has decreased over time. In early childhood, before the age of 10, the male to female ratio is 3:1 (the most widely accepted ratio a few years ago was 4:1).

Over 7 million people in the United States are living with Alzheimer's disease. Unfortunately, this number is expected to double by 2050. Women outnumber their male counterparts by almost a two-to-one margin. Although in general, women tend to live longer than men, aging alone cannot account for the differences in the number of women who are disproportionately represented. What factors account for the sex difference?

Akhand headed a human resources department in New York's tech industry when she hit a wall of exhaustion, realized it was affecting her mental health and felt forced to leave the job. "I used to pour myself a glass of wine and crash in front of the TV every night," she told DW. "I was drained. I had nothing more to give."