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What are the roles of sex and gender in antimicrobial resistance? Evidence across infection, selection and transmission

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Antimicrobial resistance is shaped by biosocial and microbiological processes, yet sex and gender have not been systematically framed across the three domains (infection, antibiotic selection and transmission) that lead to drug-resistant infection. Synthesising available evidence, we find no consistent sex or gender bias in resistance prevalence; where differences are reported, prevalence is more often higher in men. Context-specific analyses are needed to determine how gendered interventions should be, if at all.

Source: npj Antimicrobials and Resistance

DOI: 10.1038/s44259-026-00279-4

Authors: Gwenan M. Knight, Olanrewaju Edun, Abel Kjaersgaard, Katherine C. Horton, Clare Wenham, Julie V. Robotham, Rebecca E. Glover, Arshnee Moodley, Katherine Keenan, Clare I. R. Chandler

Institutions: London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London School of Economics and Political Science, University of Oxford, UK Health Security Agency, University of Copenhagen, International Livestock Research Institute, University of St Andrews

Language: English

Topic: Antibiotic Use and Resistance

Subfield: Infectious Diseases

Field: Medicine

Domain: Health Sciences

SDGs: Good health and well-being, Reduced inequalities, Gender equality

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $3,190

Funders: Wellcome Trust, UK Research and Innovation, National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit, National Institute for Health and Care Research, Department of Health and Social Care, British Academy, University of Oxford, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, Medical Research Council

Awards: G1556342945, G1723935756, G2075850591, G2181228234, The Effects of Western Donors on Tunisian Women's Rights Organizations, Colliding crises: antimicrobial resistance and ageing, Creating evidence to support tuberculosis (TB) national and global decision- makers in reducing the global burden of TB, AQUAROAD: Advancing Groundwater Quality in the Global South: Geochemical Processes, Remediation, Optimisation & Co-Designed Decision-Making Frameworks

OpenAlex ID: W7223261063

FWCI:

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