why are males more vulnerable to genetic disorders?
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"Having only one copy of X-linked genes (one allele) makes males more vulnerable to deleterious mutations that adversely affect the function encoded by these genes, certainly more vulnerable than females with two copies (two alleles)," Dr. Migeon writes.
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Males Mutate More Than Females. Old fathers may be a genetic liability for their offspring. By analyzing a gene found on both the male and female sex chromosomes of birds, Swedish researchers have found evidence supporting the idea that older males are a source of the mutations that lead to genetic disease.
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Across the globe, boys have a 14% higher risk of being born prematurely, the research found. Prof Lawn said: “Baby boys have a higher likelihood of infections, jaundice, birth complications, and congenital conditions but the biggest risk for baby boys is due to pre-term birth.
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Men are more likely than women to have SCA. Some studies show that blacks—particularly those with underlying conditions such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart failure, and chronic kidney disease or certain cardiac findings on tests such as an electrocardiogram—have a higher risk for SCA.
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Recessive X-linked disorders But, in males, there's only 1 X chromosome and if it has the recessive mutation, they will have the disorder. Recessive X-linked disorders tend to be more common in males, because it's less likely that a female will get 2 copies of the recessive mutation.
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Men and women have practically the same set of about 20,000 genes. The only physical difference in their genetic make up is in the sex chromosomes. Only males have a Y chromosome. Although the X chromosome is present in both sexes, there are two copies in females and only one in males.
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These genetic and environmental similarities make it easier for scientists to spot rare differences in a population group that could be related to health or disease. Such studies also can help explain why some medical conditions are more common in certain population groups.
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6.1 Genetic Disorders of the Sex Chromosomes The most obvious genetic difference between females and males is their sex chromosome complement (i.e., XX and XY). Various human sex chromosome disorders exist, which might be considered a human model for sex chromosome effects similar to the four core genotypes.
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These disorders affect males more often than females because females have an additional X chromosome that acts as a “back-up.” Because males only have one X chromosome, any mutation in the factor VIII or IX gene will result in hemophilia.
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Changes in many genes, each with a small effect, may underlie susceptibility to many common diseases, including cancer, obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and mental illness. In people with a genetic predisposition, the risk of disease can depend on multiple factors in addition to an identified genetic change.
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Although men are more likely to develop ED as they age, aging does not cause ED. A twin study of middle-aged males reported that about one-third of ED risk is heritable—meaning that there is a genetic component(s), but specific genetic variants had not been identified.
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A characteristic of X-linked inheritance is that fathers cannot pass X-linked traits to their sons (no male-to-male transmission). X-linked recessive disorders are also caused by mutations in genes on the X chromosome.
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Diabetes, especially type 2, is more common in males rather than females. However, females often have more serious complications and a greater risk of death.
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In females, a mutation would have to occur in both copies of the gene to cause the disorder. Because it is unlikely that females will have two altered copies of this gene, males are affected by X-linked recessive disorders much more frequently than females.
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Males are said to be "hemizygous" for any X-chromosome genes, meaning that there are only half ("hemi") as many alleles as normally present for a diploid individual. As a consequence, if males (but not females) inherit an X-linked recessive trait from their mothers, they display the recessive phenotype.
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This is why so many male-only diseases are attributable to defective genes on the X chromosome." Such diseases include Duchenne muscular dystrophy, hemophilia and Hunter syndrome, which causes dwarfing, abnormal bones and mental retardation in males but usually does not affect females who carry the same mutated gene.
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"Autosomal" means that the gene is on one of the first 22 pairs of chromosomes that do not determine gender, so that males and females are equally affected by the disease.