[Sex influence on the cardiac complication of ankylosing spondylitis--analysis of 95 cases of ankylosing spondylitis including our case].

Ankylosing spondylitis is apparently rare among Japanese and it is known that this disease is commoner in males than in females. The male to female ratio among general ankylosing spondylitis is 4.5:1. The cardiac conduction abnormalities, aortic insufficiency and mitral insufficiency are sometimes associated with this disease. We analysed the influence of sex on the development of these cardiac complications using 95 reported cases of ankylosing spondylitis including our case. Among the ankylosing spondylitis patients who were accompanied with cardiac complication, 99% were male. This frequency is significantly high compared with that found in general ankylosing spondylitis (p less than 0.0001). The cardiac complication associated with this disease seems to be characteristic for males. This sex difference is useful for differential diagnosis from various diseases which accompany these cardiac complications. The mechanism of sex influence on the cardiac complication of ankylosing spondylitis was also discussed.