GenderBasic meeting

1. GenderBasic meeting Comments on Nutrigenomics review of Jose Ordovas by Nicolien Wieringa

2. Nutrigenomics • Relatively young research field • High expectations for applications in disease prevention

3. Sex differences? • Yes!

4. A tiny search • How do sex/gender play a role in nutrigenomics research? • PubMed search (not much…..) • Role of sex/gender in Dutch Nutrigenomics Consortium

5. Gender perspective in research • Defining research questions taking into account sex/gender differences • Research models • Context of application

6. Basic research questions • What interactions between nutrition and the menstrual cycle play a role in health and disease? • Since many chronic diseases in women occur after menopause, how do sex hormones interact in the relationships between nutrition and disease susceptibility?

7. continued • What effects do dietary habits have on the development of osteoporosis in women and which role do genetic factors play? • What is the role of nutrition in diseases with a genetic component that frequently occur in women, e.g. migraine, depression, astma?

8. continued • How does nutrition interact with genes in the development of eating disorders that occur frequently in girls and women, for example anorexia nervosa? • What is the genetic basis for low levels of folic acid in women who therefore have a high risk of conceiving children with neurological malformations?

9. Relevant animal models • Available? • “Very little is known about the female mouse” • Developments needed!

10. Context of application • Development of “individualized diets” • New ways of constructing populations • News avenues for gender bias?

11. Context nutrigenomics research • Cardiovascular disease, obesity: lifestyle diseases • Focus on biomedical and socio-cultural causes • Balance needed in research policy