GENDER DIFFERENCES IN ADVERSE DRUG-REACTIONS

The objective of this study is to identify gender-related differences in the types of symptoms and drugs reported to cause an adverse drug r eaction. Patient data from the Sunnybrook Health Science Centre ADR Cl inic for the period from April 1986 to May 1996 were reviewed. Of the 2,367 patients assessed, 74.1 % were female. The mean age of the patie nts was 43 +/- 17 years. Drug classes most frequently reported to elic it an adverse event were general antiinfectives (60.4%), nervous syste m agents (21.5%), and musculoskeletal agents (3.7%). Skin-related reac tions accounted for 49.0% of all reported adverse drug reactions. More than one agent was reported to be responsible for the adverse drug re action(s) in 50% of the female patients, versus 33.1% of all male pati ents. Of the female patients, 47.6% were referred for skin or oral cha llenge testing versus 41.6% of the male patients. Of the female patien ts, 6.2% tested positive to the agent compared with 6.1% of all male p atients. These results support previous findings that female gender is a risk factor for the development of adverse drug reactions. Further work is required to elucidate the mechanisms explaining the difference s observed between male and female patients. (C) 1998 The American Col lege of Clinical Pharmacology.