title: Effects of sex and gender on adaptation to space: behavioral health.
abstract: This article is part of a larger body of work entitled, "The Impact of Sex and Gender on Adaptation to Space." It was developed in response to a recommendation from the 2011 National Academy of Sciences Decadal Survey, "Recapturing a Future for Space Exploration: Life and Physical Sciences for a New Era," which emphasized the need to fully understand sex and gender differences. In this article, our workgroup-consisting of expert scientists and clinicians from academia and the private sector-investigated and summarized the current body of published and unpublished human research performed to date related to sex- and gender-based differences in behavioral adaptations to human spaceflight. This review identifies sex-related differences in: (1) sleep, circadian rhythms, and neurobehavioral measures; (2) personality, group interactions, and work performance and satisfaction; and (3) stress and clinical disorders. Differences in these areas substantially impact the risks and optimal medical care required by space-faring women. To ensure the health and safety of male and female astronauts during long-duration space missions, it is imperative to understand the influences that sex and gender have on behavioral health changes occurring during spaceflight.
authors.affiliation: 1 Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine , Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
authors.forename: Namni
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Goel
authors.forename: Tracy L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Bale
authors.forename: C Neill
authors.initials: CN
authors.lastname: Epperson
authors.forename: Susan G
authors.initials: SG
authors.lastname: Kornstein
authors.forename: Gloria R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Leon
authors.forename: Lawrence A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Palinkas
authors.forename: Jack W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Stuster
authors.forename: David F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Dinges
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000337:Aerospace Medicine; D018480:Astronauts / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D035841:Behavioral Research; D002940:Circadian Rhythm; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012737:Sex Factors; D013026:Space Flight; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014893:Weightlessness / Q000009:adverse effects; D016387:Women's Health