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Home » Testosterone » New Theories Explaining Why Women are More Susceptible to Autoimmune Disease than Men – Managed Healthcare Executive

Although autoimmune disease (AD) affects both genders, womenare atan overwhelming disadvantage. Of the approximate8% of the population affected by AD, a whopping 78% of those cases are women (NCBI). The National Institutes of Health has officially designated autoimmune disease as a major womens health issue.

Autoimmunity in and of itself is very complicated, withmore than80 diseases under its umbrella. The rate at which AD affects women over men, is no exception to the complexity of understanding this group of diseases. Through recent studies, scientists have found evidence to support three significant theories to explain why women are so greatly affected by AD compared to men.

Testosterone levels protect menAccording to researchers at theUniversity of Gothenburg, there is a link between the male sex hormone testosterone and protection against autoimmune diseases. Men are generally more protected than women, who only have one-tenth as much testosterone. Their study confirmed that this hormone reduces the number of B cells, a type of lymphocyte that releases harmful antibodies.Testosterone suppresses the protein BAFF, which makes the harmful B cells more viable. Therefore, women dont benefit from the same protection against these B cells.

These findings support those of aprevious studyshowing the link between varying levels of BAFF andsystemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), an autoimmune disease that affects nine women for every one man. Lupus is one of the most common autoimmune diseases among women.

SkinPerhaps one of the most interesting findings was uncovered in a study at The University of Michigan three years ago. Researchers discovered that women carry more of a molecular switch, called VGLL3, in their skin than men do. In2019, further research pointed to evidence showing that having too much VGLL3 in skin cells pushes the immune system into overdrive, leading to a self-attacking autoimmune response that can extend beyond the skin, also attacking internal organs.

The same gene expression-level changes in skin cells with extra VGLL3 are also seen in autoimmune diseases such as lupus. It is still not known why women have more VGLL3 in their skin than men. However, men with lupus do show the same VGLL3 pathway activated as in women with lupus.

The Pregnancy Compensation Hypothesis and hormonesThe idea behind this theory is that a womans immune system evolves to support the heightened need for protection during pregnancy. According to Melissa Wilson, PhD and senior author of astudyconducted at Arizona State University, reduced pregnancy rates in todays modern, industrialized societies means womens immune systems dont have the reproductive challenges they are meant to stand up against. These changes in the reproductive ecology of women makes them more susceptible to autoimmune disease because immune surveillance is heightened.

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New Theories Explaining Why Women are More Susceptible to Autoimmune Disease than Men - Managed Healthcare Executive

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Home » Testosterone » New Theories Explaining Why Women are More Susceptible to Autoimmune Disease than Men – Managed Healthcare Executive