Women are more at risk for auto immune diseases
An exhaustive and
systematic comparison of the prevalence of auto immune diseases for each sex,
at different ages, has only recently been carried out. One such careful analysis of 40 auto immune
diseases led its authors to the following conclusion: the human female is more at risk for most
auto immune disorders, at all ages, except for certain auto immune nephropathies
(diseases of the kidneys) which are clearly male-prevalent. Crohn's disease (auto immune inflammation of
the colon) may also be slightly more frequent in men. Another notable generality is that the age of
onset of virtually all auto immune diseases is pubertal or post-pubertal, very
rarely pre-pubertal (except for Sydenham's chorea) and that the disparity of
risk for the sexes increases with age until menopause. Of course, this is because the second
estrogen bath (puberty), pregnancies, and the estrogen peaks of the menstrual cycle
all increase women's chances of developing auto immune symptoms. The striking sex difference in the risk for
auto immune disease is seen in the female-to-male prevalence ratios of the
following auto immune diseases (see table 8).
Table 8
Prevalence of auto immune disorders in
women relative to men
|
Auto immune disorder
|
Tissue affected
|
Female to male
prevalence
|
|
Sydenham's chorea
|
Basal ganglia
of the brain
|
(2:1)
|
|
Fibromyalgia
|
Connective
tissue
|
(5:1)
|
|
Systemic lupus erythematosis
|
Blood
vessels, skin and brain
|
(12:1)
|
|
Multiple sclerosis
|
Myelin cells
of the brain
|
(3:1)
|
|
Graves disease
|
Thyroid gland
|
(7:1)
|
|
Rheumatoid arthritis
|
Joints
|
(4:1)
|
|
Myasthenia gravis
|
Neuromuscular
junction
|
(3:1)
|
|
Sjogren's disease
|
Eye
|
(9:1)
|
|
Auto immune cholangitis
|
Biliary duct
|
(9:1)
|
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