Streszczenie POWRÓT DO POPRZEDNIEJ STRONY Gender Differences in Clinical Profile of Dilated Cardiomyopathy T.W. Deptuch, Z.T. Biliñska, J. Grzybowski. E. Michalak, M. Skwarek, W. Rydlewska-Sadowska, W. Ru¿y³³o National Institute of Cardiology, Warsaw, PL It is well known that some autoimmune diseases affect predominantly males (e.g. insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) and other (e.g. rheumathoid arthritis) affect females. Autoimmunity is one of two major hypothesis of pathogenesis of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), which affects, in vast majority, males. We reviewed our DCM patient database to look for any differences in clinical profile between males (n=106, aged 42.2+/-ll.l y) and females (n=42, aged 38.5+/-13.9y). DCM was diagnosed according to WHO criteria; all patients had left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction <45%. l0pts (23.8%) had peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM). All patients underwent clinical examination, noninvasive studies with two-dimensional Doppler echocardiography and cardiac catheterization. There was no significant difference in baseline characteristics with regard to age, NYHA class, parameters of LV size and function. However, when we looked at the age distribution, we found that prevalence of the disease onset peaked typically in males (between 35 and 55y of age) but in females it peaked twice: at age 30y (partly PPCM) and later at 60y, as displayed below, on the graph. This may suggest different pathogenetic mechanism of DCM in females. POWRÓT DO POPRZEDNIEJ STRONY © Copyright by Polskie Towarzystwo Kardiologiczne 1998-2000