%0 Journal Article %A Grace Y. Lam %A Jodi Goodwin %A Pearce G. Wilcox %A Bradley S. Quon %T Sex disparities in cystic fibrosis: review on the effect of female sex hormones on lung pathophysiology and outcomes %D 2021 %R 10.1183/23120541.00475-2020 %J ERJ Open Research %P 00475-2020 %V 7 %N 1 %X Sex differences in morbidity and mortality have been reported in the cystic fibrosis (CF) population worldwide. However, it is unclear why CF women have worse clinical outcomes than men. In this review, we focus on the influence of female sex hormones on CF pulmonary outcomes and summarise data from in vitro and in vivo experiments on how oestrogen and progesterone might modify mucociliary clearance, immunity and infection in the CF airways. The potential for novel sex hormone-related therapeutic interventions is also discussed.A disparity in survival has been noted between men and women with cystic fibrosis where female sex hormones may facilitate lung disease progression. There is strong evidence that implicates oestrogen in numerous aspects of CF airway pathophysiology. https://bit.ly/34ef4Cv %U https://openres.ersjournals.com/content/erjor/7/1/00475-2020.full.pdf