Women are more susceptible to stress than men because of a greater sensitivity to a substance produced when they are anxious, a new study has found.
Scientists have long known women are more vulnerable than men to stress and related conditions such as depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, but this research from the US is the first time that they have begun, in biological terms, to understand why, the UK's Daily Telegraph reported.
The research team, led by Dr Rita Valentino at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, found that females are more sensitive to a hormone released during times of anxiety, which they believe is related to stress management.
In studies on rats, they noticed that females are more sensitive to low levels of the "corticotropin-releasing factor" (CRT) hormone and are also less equipped to cope with higher levels of it.
While the study has only looked at rats so far, CRT is known to play a role in all mammals, including humans.
"Although more research is certainly necessary to determine whether this translates to humans, this may help to explain why women are twice as vulnerable as men to stress-related disorders," Dr Rita Valentino said in a media release.
In the study, rats were made to undergo a forced swim during which the females showed signs of being more sensitive to CRF.
The scientists also found that stressed male rats adapted by making themselves less responsive to the hormone.
The research is important as it highlights gender differences that were not previously picked up as all earlier studies in this field only looked at male rats.
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"Pharmacology researchers investigating CRF antagonists [blocking agents] as drug treatments for depression may need to take into account gender differences at the molecular level," Dr Valentino said.
The research was published online in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.
According to Medibank, workplace stress costs the Australian economy $14.81 billion a year.
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