Gender*CoLaus - Effects of sex and gender on cardiovascular risk factors and mental disorders in a middle-aged population-based cohort

Men and women present important differences in health, which are shaped by sociocultural factors (gender) and biological factors (sex). This project aims to better understand how gender and sex influence health in the fields of cardiovascular health and mental health.

Content and objectives of the research work

This project will pursue the CoLaus|PsyCoLaus cohort study, started in 2003 on more than 6,700 women and men from Lausanne, by carrying out the 4th follow-up for the participants aged 55 to 68 years in 2024. In addition to the numerous social determinants of health already recorded, new multidimensional measures of gender, as well as measures of sex hormones in blood, will be integrated. The information collected over more than 20 years will allow us to study the specific effects of sex (administrative sex and change of sex hormones during menopause/andropause) and of gender (as a multidimensional social construct) on health behaviors (smoking, alcohol consumption, physical activity, diet), cardiovascular risk factors (obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension), mental disorders (depression and its subtypes, anxiety disorders, and disorders related to alcohol consumption), as well as on their associations.

Scientific and social context of the research project

Gender is a major societal issue, and its influence on health, in interaction with sex, must be studied further. This project will make it possible to extend current knowledge on the respective roles of sex and gender on health, in order to better target gender-related disparities in health policies, prevention programs, and clinical practice.