Objective: There exist gender differences in pulsatile contour waveform. Women have a greater age-related increase in left ventricular mass than do men and more likely to experience symptomatic heart failure after infarction. SDPTG (the second derivative of photoplethysmogram waveform) is a noninvasive method for evaluating the pulse wave and is correlated with age and other risk factors for atherosclerosis. We studied the effect of gender on SDPTG and made clear why the gender differences appear. Methods: To study the effects of effect factors, including height and blood pressure, on SDPTG in the fourth decade, data on height, weight, PTD (pulse transit distance), blood pressure, serum lipid levels, and SDPTG were collected in 115 laboratory healthy men and women. SDPTG is derived from double-differential processing of fingertip photoplethysmography and consists of a, b, c, and d waves in systole and an e wave in diastole; SDPTG aging index (AI) was calculated as (b-c-d-e)/a. Results: There were significant gender-related differences of SDPTG AI, height, and blood pressure. Age, height, and mean blood pressure were respectively and significantly correlated with SDPTG AI. SDPTG is dependent upon age, height, and blood pressure. Restricting analysis to SDPTG AI, age, height, and mean blood pressure, yielded that there were gender-related differences in SDPTG AI (P<0.05) which were derived from those of height (F<0.001, df=l, P=0.994). Conclusions: These new data may help to explain previous findings about age-related differences in pulsatile contour waveforms and why gender differences of SDPTG appear. The results of this study suggest that SDPTG AI, used for evaluation of biological vascular aging, should be calibrated by height as well as age and blood pressure.