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ORWH Seminar Looks at Diabetes, Sleep Apnea, and Hypertension
Four perspectives on metabolic dysfunction in women were presented at the recent Office of Research on Women’s Health seminar series on sex and gender research, entitled Sex and Gender Research: Metabolic Dysfunction.
Metabolic syndrome is the name for a group of risk factors linked to overweight and obesity that increase the chance for heart disease and other health problems such as diabetes and stroke.
Dr. Judith Fradkin of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) discussed obesity trends and the worldwide diabetes epidemic, and emphasized the need for education and prevention programs.
“The rising tide of diabetes strikes just as we confront the healthcare crisis in this country with rising healthcare costs,” said Dr. Fradkin.
Because intrauterine exposure to diabetes is associated with diabetes and obesity in the offspring, NIDDK is reaching out to women at risk for gestational diabetes to make them aware of the importance of a healthy lifestyle for themselves and their children.
Dr. Andrea Dunaif of the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University presented her research that has led the way in redefining polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a common endocrine condition, as a major metabolic disorder that is a leading risk factor for type 2 diabetes.
“We know that insulin, in addition to being a sugar-regulating hormone is also a reproductive hormone and that lowering insulin levels can improve PCOS,” said Dr. Dunaif. “It’s now being recognized that high androgen levels contribute to the disorder and are also responsible for an independent risk for metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance.”
Dr. David Ehrmann of the University of Chicago Medical Center talked about the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and the metabolic disturbances of PCOS. “PCOS represents a unique and important model in which to examine the causal relationships between OSA and metabolic dysfunction, said Dr. Ehrmann. “While it is true that men tend to have a higher prevalence of obstructive sleep apnea, PCOS is a model to look at this gender-based difference. As it turns out, obstructive sleep apnea has metabolic consequences, and is connected to androgen levels, obesity and insulin resistance and PCOS.”
Dr. Kathryn Sandberg of Georgetown University discussed sex differences in hypertension and associated cardiovascular and renal disease, and why premenopausal females are protected from renal-cardiovascular disease compared to men and postmenopausal women. Her studies suggest that sex differences in gonadal steroid regulation of the AT R contribute to the differences in male and female susceptibility to hypertension and renal disease progression.
The ORWH Women’s Health Seminar Series features nationally recognized leaders in women’s health research who present the latest information on topics important to women’s health, and is free and open to the public. The next seminar, The Interaction of Depression with Other Diseases, will be held on September 10.
Link to the seminar videocast: http://videocast.nih.gov/PastEvents.asp
ORWH Seminar Looks at Diabetes, Sleep Apnea, and Hypertension |
