Gender and Dermatology

Many characteristics of the body are reflected in the skin, gender being a prominent one. Genetic and hormonal differences affect skin structure and function, resulting in variations between women and men and causing these gender variations to change with age. In addition, exogenous factors differ according to differences in lifestyle between the sexes. During the last few decades, methodologies used in dermatological research have improved substantially, providing means of objective evaluation of skin function and characteristics. The number of studies addressing various aspects of differences between women and men has increased in the last few years along with the growing interest in studying gender related differences of physiological and disease processes. However, the subject has not yet been systematically studied, so much of the data are by-products of studies with a different focus. This textbook comprehensively outlines the various aspects of physiological differences between the skin of women and men, based on the available data. Using practical examples and tools, this represents a clinically-relevant textbook in the discipline.