Did you know that women have an autoimmune disease rather than men?
Up to 4 out of 5 people with an autoimmune disease are women.
What is an autoimmune disease?
An autoimmune disease develops when the body’s immune system attacks its own healthy cells, organs or tissues.
Autoimmune diseases can affect almost any tissue or organ in your body
skin
Joints
Blood vessels
Muscles
Your symptoms can vary depending on the affected body parts.
One person can have more than 1 autoimmune disease.
Autoimmune diseases are chronic and can be serious
There are no remedies for autoimmune diseases and you can seriously influence your quality of life without adequate treatment.
How do you treat autoimmune diseases?
The treatment varies based on:
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What conditions do you have
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What symptoms do you have
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Where their symptoms are
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What are the goals of treatment
Early treatment is the key
To be treated early can help prevent organ damage
Why do women get autoimmune diseases with greater probability?
Women have many hormonal changes that can influence the immune system and lead to autoimmune diseases.
The 3 hormonal main transitions are:
Autoimmune diseases are more likely to occur when the hormone level changes and in long stress periods.
Other factors are:
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Environment
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genetics
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Female sex (two x chromosomes)
Fluctuating hormones + immune changes + transition periods = a higher risk of autoimmune diseases
The most common autoimmune diseases in women are:
Autoimmune diseases are on the rise all over the world …
… but rarely spoken as a health problem in women
Talk to your health service provider when you think you have an autoimmune disease.
This educational resource was created with the support of VIUTRIS, a healthy member of the management consultancy.
