Abstract. Diabetes mellitus is known to affect drug and steroid metabolism in the rat liver. Recently it has been shown that the effect on drug metabolism is both transient and sex-dependent. This study shows that the effect of diabetes on steroid metabolism is also sex-dependent i.e. only seen in the male and the effect is always to abolish the sex differences in steroid metabolism found in the intact animals. 7α-hydroxylase activity, which is higher in the female, is increased by diabetes in the male whereas 6β-hydroxylase, 16α-hydroxylase and 17-oxosteroid reductase, which are all higher in the male, are decreased by diabetes. This is a very similar result to that found for drug metabolism and indicates that insulin plays a role in the maintenance of sex differences in hepatic steroid metabolism in the rat as it does for drug metabolism.
Sex Differences in Diabetes Mellitus Mortality Trends in Brazil, 1980-2012
