In recently done research. Researchers have begun to understand, why does a male have a high risk of neurodevelopmental disorder compared to Women. According to them, sex plays a key role in disease risk.

Male and Female Get Affected By-

While Depression and anxiety affect females more. Neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorders, early-onset schizophrenia, and attention deficit hyperactivity, affect more males. Males are also more sensitive to prenatal insults, such as gestational stress, maternal infection and drug exposure.

What do the Researchers Say?

Tracy Bale of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. Along with several colleagues, focused on a molecule that plays a key role in placental health. What they found in a study of mice. The molecule, O-linked N-acetylglucosamine transferase (OGT) works by establishing sex-specific patterns of gene expression.

OGT seems to work via an epigenetic modification that broadly controls transcription, H3K27me3. The study of changes in how genes are expressed is called epigenetics. Dr. Bale suggested that high levels of H3K27me3 in the female placenta produce resilience to stress experienced by the mother. What this means is their ks at least one molecular pathway. That allows females to be more resilient to maternal stress than males.

“This pathway could help explain why we see this profound neurodevelopmental difference in humans,” said Dr. Bale. “OGT and H3K27me3 in the placenta are crucial to much protein-encoding that occurs during pregnancy, and so this process has a lot of downstream effects. The OGT gene is on the X chromosome, and seems to provide a level of protection for the female fetus to perturbations in the maternal environment.”

Previously, she found that in mice. A father’s stress can affect the brain development of offspring. What this stress does is, it alters the sperm. Which leads to having an effect on brain development of the child.

All the researches done by a doctor suggested that even a mild change in environment changes and even a little stress. Can have a significant effect on the health of the offspring. The results suggest it’s very important for a father to be healthy psychologically for his child. Alternatively, it can give an adverse outcome.