Understanding gender differences in cardiometabolic risk across the life course

心脏病和糖尿病是全球和英国男性和女性的主要死亡原因。成人中存在糖尿病的性别差异。例如，糖尿病在男性中比在女性中更常见。平均而言，超重或肥胖的男性患糖尿病的肥胖水平也低于超重或肥胖的女性。然而，一旦女性患上糖尿病，她比糖尿病男性更容易患上心脏病。我们知道，一个人患糖尿病和心脏病的风险在童年时期就开始形成。即使在年幼的儿童中，血液中的糖和其他物质的水平也可以告诉我们他们成年后患糖尿病的风险。这个项目的目的是找出男性和女性之间在糖尿病和心脏病风险方面的差异是否在年轻的男孩和女孩身上已经很明显，从出生到童年到成年早期。我将通过比较男孩和女孩从出生到成年的血液中糖和其他物质的量来做到这一点。我会调查超重或肥胖的年轻男孩的血液中的血糖水平是否与超重或肥胖的年轻女孩相同。这将告诉我们，与超重或肥胖的女孩相比，超重或肥胖的男孩患糖尿病的可能性是否更高。我还将调查血液中糖和其他物质含量高的女孩与血液中糖和其他物质含量高的男孩相比，是否存在心脏问题。这将告诉我们，如果年轻女孩的血液中含有与糖尿病有关的高血糖和其他物质，那么是否已经在年轻女孩的心脏中检测到糖尿病女性晚年心脏病的较高水平。然后，我会调查任何差异背后的原因；是否不同的行为模式，如吸烟或体育活动，生物因素，如激素，或反映不同脂肪储存模式的体型差异，可以解释这些差异。我将使用两项不同研究的数据，这两项研究跟踪了参与者从出生到童年到成年的整个过程。雅芳对父母和孩子的纵向研究始于1991/1992年布里斯托尔的14,000多名孕妇，从那以后一直跟踪调查她们的孩子，现在25岁。安得拉邦儿童和父母研究始于1987年至1990年期间在印度出生的2500多名儿童，并对他们进行了三次跟踪调查，直到25岁。我会分别检查每项研究，然后将结果进行比较，看看它们是相似还是不同。这将帮助我找出我的发现在这两个非常不同的人群中是否一致。通过确定我们在老年人身上看到的性别差异在生活中真正开始的时间，我们可以确定预防这些差异的计划何时可能有效。通过确定性别差异背后的原因，可以在生命早期提供有效的针对性别的方案和干预措施，以防止在以后的生活中出现性别差异。

Heart disease and diabetes are leading causes of death in men and women globally and in the UK. Gender differences in diabetes exist in adults. For example, diabetes is more common in men than in women. On average, overweight or obese men also develop diabetes at a lower level of fatness than overweight or obese women. However, once a woman becomes diabetic she is much more likely to develop heart disease than a diabetic man. We know that a person's risk of diabetes and heart disease begins to take shape in childhood. Even in young children the level of sugar and other substances in the blood can tell us about the risk of them developing diabetes as adults. The aim of this project is to find out if differences between men and women in terms of their diabetes and heart disease risk later in life are already evident in young boys and girls from birth all the way through childhood and into early adulthood. I will do this by comparing the amount of sugar and other substances in the blood of boys and girls from when they are born to when they are young adults. I will investigate if young boys who are overweight or obese have the same levels of sugar in their blood as young girls who are overweight or obese. This will tell us if overweight or obese boys already show a higher chance of getting diabetes compared to overweight or obese girls. I will also investigate if girls with high levels of sugar and other substances in their blood have problems with their hearts compared to boys with high level of sugars and other substances in their blood. This will tell us if the higher level of heart disease in diabetic women later in life is already detectable in the hearts of young girls with high levels of sugar and other substances in their blood, that are linked to diabetes. I will then investigate the reasons behind any differences; whether different behaviour patterns such as smoking or physical activity, biological factors such as hormones or differences in body shape which reflect different patterns of fat storage explain the differences. I will use data from two different studies that followed participants from birth across childhood into adulthood. The Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children started with over 14,000 pregnant women in Bristol in 1991/1992 and their children have been followed ever since, now aged 25. The Andhra Pradesh Children and Parents Study started with over 2,500 children born in India between 1987 and 1990 and has followed them up three times up to the age of 25. I will examine each study separately and then compare the findings to see if they are alike or different. This will help me to find out if my findings are consistent in these two very different populations. By identifying when in life the gender differences we see in older adults actually start, we can identify times when programs to prevent them might be effective. By identifying the reasons behind any gender differences, effective gender-specific programs and interventions can be delivered early in life to prevent gender differences later in life.