Gender as a risk factor for adverse events to medications

Adverse drug reaction (ADR) increase morbidity and mortality, and therefore increase healthcare costs. An important component of quality assurance monitoring is the establishment of an ADR surveillance programme. One goal of the programme is to minimise ADRs through detection, identification of risk groups, establishment of drug treatment guidelines and education. Several characteristics have been suggested as risk factors for the development of adverse events including: advanced age, female sex, history of a previous adverse event, multiple medications, duration of hospital stay, liver disease and renal disease. This review focuses on an individual's sex as a risk factor for adverse reactions to drugs.