American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN) Certification Practice Test

Which bleeding disorder is known to disproportionately affect males due to its sex-linked recessive nature?

1. Hemophilia

2. Von Willebrand disease

3. Thrombocytopenia

4. Hemolytic anemia

The correct answer is: Hemophilia

Hemophilia is a bleeding disorder that is known to disproportionately affect males due to its sex-linked recessive nature, specifically related to mutations on the X chromosome. Since males have one X and one Y chromosome, if they inherit the affected X chromosome, they will express the disorder because they do not have a second X chromosome that could potentially compensate for the defective gene. In contrast, females have two X chromosomes, so even if they inherit one affected X chromosome, they often have a normal copy on the other chromosome which may mitigate the effects of the disorder. This leads to a lower prevalence of hemophilia in females. The most common forms of hemophilia, such as Hemophilia A and Hemophilia B, feature deficiencies in specific clotting factors, leading to increased bleeding tendencies which can be severe. In contrast, other bleeding disorders such as Von Willebrand disease, thrombocytopenia, and hemolytic anemia do not have the same mode of inheritance and do not specifically affect males to the same extent as hemophilia. Von Willebrand disease, for example, can affect both genders fairly equally, while thrombocytopenia and hemolytic anemia have various causes and effects that are not linked to a sex-specific gene