Women diagnosed with cystic fibrosis 'later than men'

Women are far more likely to be diagnosed with cystic fibrosis as adults than men, who are usually diagnosed as children or in adolescents, according to new research.

Female patients with the condition made up 54 per cent of the total number of people diagnosed as adults in a national US study conducted by National Jewish Health and published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care.

In addition to a later diagnosis for cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease often associated with a lower life expectancy, women were found to survive an average of nine to 14 years longer than male patients.

Lead researcher Jerry Nick explained: "We were surprised to discover that the majority of patients diagnosed as adults were females, representing a striking reversal of the 'gender gap' in cystic fibrosis, and that they have delayed, but equally severe disease."

Meanwhile, research carried out in March by scientists at the University of Dundee suggested that patients with cystic fibrosis in the European Union survive longer than those in non-EU countries.

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