Female predominant diseases

Many immunological and neurological diseases disproportionately affect women.

Epidemiology
Roughly 80% of patients with autoimmune disease are women. Over the last decades, the ratio of women to men with MS has increased markedly, representing a true increase in MS among women but not men.

ME/CFS and most autoimmune diseases are more common in women and both are characterized by increased inflammation.

Immune system
Summary of sex differences in innate and adaptive immune responses

Hormones
Women with these diseases may experiencing a worsening of symptoms at specific points in their menstrual cycle, particularly just before or around their periods. Estradiol and progesterone induce mast cell maturation and degranulation, which may contribute to the symptoms of a wide range of allergic and mast cell-mediated diseases.

Asthma
In humans, a much higher asthma prevalence was found in women at reproductive age as compared to men. Serum levels of estradiol and progesterone have been directly correlated with the clinical and functional features of asthma. Around 30–40% of women with asthma experience a worsening of symptoms near their period. Postmenopausal women receiving hormone replacement therapy have an increased risk of new onset of asthma.

Stigma
Men and women with these diseases are at risk of stigmatization, dismissal, minimization and psychologization of their symptoms. (Full text)

List of diseases
Below, a list of diseases that disproportionately affect women.

Learn more

 * Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick by Maya Dusenbery