For reasons we do not understand, about 75 percent of autoimmune diseases occur in women, most frequently during the childbearing years. Table I(left) lists the female-to-male ratios in autoimmune diseases. Hormones are thought to play a role, because some autoimmune illnesses occur more frequently after menopause, others suddenly improve during pregnancy, with flare-ups occurring after delivery, while still others will get worse during pregnancy.
Autoimmune diseases also seem to have a genetic component, but, mysteriously, they can cluster in families as different illnesses. For example, a mother may have lupus erythematosus; her daughter, diabetes; her grandmother, rheumatoid arthritis. Research is shedding light on genetic as well as hormonal and environmental risk factors that contribute to the causes of these diseases.
Individually, autoimmune diseases are not very common, with the exception of thyroid disease, diabetes, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). However, taken as a whole, they represent the fourth-largest cause of disability among women in the United States.
Female:Male Ratios
in Autoimmune Diseases
Hashimoto's disease/hypothyroiditis
10:1
Systemic lupus erythematosus
9:1
Sjogren's syndrome
9:1
Antiphospholipid syndrome
9:1
Primary biliary cirrhosis
9:1
Mixed connective tissue disease
8:1
Autoimmune hepatitis
8:1
Graves' disease/hyperthyroiditis
7:1
Rheumatoid arthritis
4:1
Scleroderma
3:1
Myasthenia gravis
2:1
Multiple sclerosis
2:1
Chronic idiopathic thrombo-
cytopenic purpura
2:1
http://www.aarda.org/women_and_autoimmunity.phpAs usual, Lynn, I love your informational posts...