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Sex Differences in Depression and Anxiety

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Sex Differences in Brain Function and Dysfunction

Part of the book series: Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences ((CTBN,volume 62))

Abstract

Depression and anxiety disorders carry a tremendous worldwide burden and emerge as a significant cause of disability among western societies. Both disorders are known to disproportionally affect women, as they are twice more likely to be diagnosed and moreover, they are also prone to suffer from female-specific mood disorders. Importantly, the prevalence of these affective disorders has notably risen after the COVID pandemic, especially in women. In this chapter, we describe factors that are possibly contributing to the expression of such sex differences in depression and anxiety. For this, we overview the effect of transcriptomic and genetic factors, the immune system, neuroendocrine aspects, and cognition. Furthermore, we also provide evidence of sex differences in antidepressant response and their causes. Finally, we emphasize the importance to consider sex as a biological variable in preclinical and clinical research, which may facilitate the discovery and development of new and more efficacious antidepressant and anxiolytic pharmacotherapies for both women and men.

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Author notes

  1. Nikolaos Kokras and Christina Dalla contributed equally to this work.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Pavlina Pavlidi, Nikolaos Kokras & Christina Dalla

  2. First Department of Psychiatry, Eginition Hospital, Medical School, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Nikolaos Kokras

Authors
  1. Pavlina Pavlidi
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  2. Nikolaos Kokras
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  3. Christina Dalla
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Christina Dalla .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, Nottingham, UK

    Claire Gibson

  2. Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Liisa A. M. Galea

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Pavlidi, P., Kokras, N., Dalla, C. (2022). Sex Differences in Depression and Anxiety. In: Gibson, C., Galea, L.A.M. (eds) Sex Differences in Brain Function and Dysfunction. Current Topics in Behavioral Neurosciences, vol 62. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/7854_2022_375

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