Bladder cancer is more frequent in men, though no one is sure why this is so. The way in which men and women metabolize certain carcinogens may hold a clue. In fact, gender differences in metabolism have been documented for food, alcohol, and environmental toxins. Gender-based differences in mental health, including mental acuity, have also been observed. According to one study, men show a measurable decline in attention, as well verbal and spatial memory, by the young age of 45.
Women remain as sharp as ever.
These differences between men and women admittedly are based on preliminary observations. Definitive work is needed to affirm these and other apparent differences that are medically significant and to explain the mechanisms that account for them. Gene expression and regulation no doubt are central elements here. What s important is that gender-based studies now hold an important place on the research agenda. A decade ago, this was not so.