Researchers find gender differences in antibiotic resistance through gut genome study

Posing as a global health threat, antibiotic resistance is estimated to cause more than 1.3 million deaths annually, as per experts at the University of Turku, Finland. 

Antibiotic resistance is caused when antibiotics lose their effectiveness thus making it difficult or in some cases impossible to treat bacterial infections. 

A recent study by researchers at the university presented some interesting facts on antibiotic resistance and how it was different between the genders. 

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For the purpose of the study, researchers analysed a global dataset of 14,641 publicly available human gut metagenomes encompassing 32 countries. 

It was observed that in high-income countries, an average of 9 per cent higher total antibiotic resistance gene load was observed in women than in men. This suggests that women may be more frequently exposed to antibiotics, bacteria resistant to antibiotics, or are more often carriers of resistant bacteria.

In comparison to the low and middle-income countries, men had a higher load of antibiotic resistance genes than women. 

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“This suggests that lifestyle, biological differences or healthcare-related factors may influence these differences more in adulthood than in childhood,” says Postdoctoral Researcher Katariina Pärnänen from the University of Turku.

The study also suggests that the age of the individual and country of residence were also strongly associated with the antibiotic resistance genes and it was particularly high in infants and the oldest age group. 

It is to be understood that high antibiotic use was associated with higher resistance gene loads and diversity. Experts believe the research results could help develop better ways to fight antibiotic resistance.

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