Different clinical manifestations exist between men and women with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), and women tend to suffer more often from back pain, and are more often obese compared to men, according to a study published in Frontiers in Medicine.
In this non-interventional, cross-sectional, mono-centric study, researchers assessed sex-specific risk factors, comorbidity, clinical manifestations, and treatments in 500 HS patients.
The study found no notable differences in age at HS onset and in disease duration between female and male patients. Likewise, the study did not uncover any notable differences regarding the family history for HS were found between sexes.
However, regarding risk factors for HS, central obesity was found to be more frequent in women, while extensive cigarette smoking and acne vulgaris were more commonly found among male patients. Also, among other comorbidities, female patients were found to suffer significantly more often from back pain, especially in the neck/shoulder region and lower back, the researchers noted.
“Significant differences in HS risk factors, comorbidity, and clinical manifestation exist between female and male patients. Thus, sex-specific differences should be taken into account in the prevention as well as medical and surgical treatment of HS patients,” the researchers concluded.
