| Autoimmune diseases comprise more than 80
serious, chronic illnesses that can involve almost
every human organ system. The common thread
among these diseases is that the body’s own
immune system attacks itself. For largely
unknown reasons, about 75 percent of autoimmune
diseases occur in women, most frequently
in women of childbearing age.
The most common autoimmune diseases
include thyroid disease and systemic lupus
erythematosus. Hashimoto’s disease, or hypothyroiditis,
is a disease in which the immune system
destroys the thyroid, and it occurs in 10 women
for every one man. Graves’ disease, in which
excessive amounts of thyroid hormone are
produced, is another thyroid disease that occurs
more frequently in women than men.
Lupus is an inflammation of the connective
tissues that can affect multiple organ systems; it
occurs in nine women for every one man. In
addition to lupus, connective tissue diseases
include rheumatoid arthritis, a disorder in which
the membranes around joints become inflamed;
Sjogren’s Syndrome, in which patients slowly lose
the ability to secrete saliva and tears; and scleroderma,
which activates immune cells to produce
scar tissue in the skin, internal organs and small
blood vessels.
Multiple sclerosis, twice as common in women
as in men, is a disease of the central nervous
system characterized by numbness, weakness,
tingling or paralysis of the limbs, impaired vision,
and/or lack of coordination. Myasthenia Gravis
also results in gradual muscle weakness.
Antiphospholipid syndrome occurs when
antibodies attack body tissues and organs and
results in the formation of blood clots in arteries
or veins. Autoimmune thrombocytopenic
purpura is characterized by the failure of blood to
clot as it should. Autoimmune hepatitis and
primary biliary cirrhosis both cause the liver to
become inflamed which can lead to cirrhosis, or
scarring, of the liver and liver failure.
Autoimmune diseases are poorly understood
and little comprehensive data exist. However, the
LUMINA study has provided new data about the
relationship between ethnicity and outcomes
among patients with lupus. The study found that
Black and Hispanic lupus patients have more
active disease and more organ system involvement
than White patients. Data also showed that
Black patients may accrue more renal damage
than White patients and more skin damage than
either Hispanic or White patients.1
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TABLE: Estimated Female-to-Male Ratios of Selected Autoimmune Diseases, 2006
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