Sex differences in susceptibility to infection: An evolutionary perspective

Abstract

Patterns of sex differences in parasite infection and immune responses have been noted for many decades. Although numerous explanations for such differences have been proposed, including hormonal patterns and sex-biased exposure to infective stages of pathogens, these have largely been proximate explanations that address the mechanisms immediately responsible for the findings but do not take a more integrative or ultimate approach. Here, we present an evolutionary framework for understanding the origin and maintenance of sex differences in the incidence and susceptibility to infectious disease, using life history theory and sexual selection to make predictions about when males or females in a particular species are expected to be more or less susceptible to parasites.