Women have between 1.5 and 1.7 times the risk of suffering adverse reactions to medications than men. Because? Because its biology is not taken into account when administering a pharmacological dose. Women, for example, have a different weight or distribution of body fat than men (normally, more fat), which affects the release, absorption, distribution, metabolism and excretion of medications, generating different responses to treatments. But drug administration is not usually carried out keeping these differences in mind and adjusting treatments per mg/kg, so women frequently receive higher doses.
What medications cause the most adverse effects in women? The list is not small at all and, in addition, they are very common drugs: statins, antibiotics, benzodiazepines, antihistamines or antipsychotics, aspirin, beta blockers, iron, or treatments for heart failure such as digoxin .
This is indicated by the General Council of Colleges of Pharmacists in a report that analyzes the differences that exist between men and women in the risk of suffering adverse reactions to medications. And, given the evidence, they urge health professionals to take these differences by sex into account and adjust the dose, especially in some commonly used medications such as statins, antibiotics, benzodiazepines or aspirin.
The study recalls, among other issues, that statins generate a greater risk of myalgia and diabetes in women than in men; that women have a decrease in the plasma clearance of some antibiotics, such as cephalosporins and aminoglycosides; and that aspirin provides more benefit to women than men in preventing ischemic strokes.
Furthermore, women are more sensitive to opiates and benzodiazepines and their dosage should therefore be reduced to avoid dependence and addiction; are at greater risk of drowsiness from antihistamines; they metabolize beta blockers more slowly; Their absorption of iron is much greater than that of men and they eliminate methotrexate, thiazides and gabapentin and antipsychotics less well.
The General Council of Colleges of Pharmacists has published this work within the framework of 8M and has taken the opportunity to remember that the pharmaceutical profession itself is openly female, since 7 out of every 10 members are pharmacists, specifically 71.9% (57,013 total). This makes it the third health profession with the highest representation of women, behind nursing (84.2%) and psychology (82.1%).
