Autoimmune Diseases in Women

What are autoimmune diseases?

Autoimmune diseases represent a series of conditions in which our immune system mistakenly identifies healthy tissues as foreign bodies and begins to attack them, triggering an abnormal response in our body’s defense.

It is important to note that these diseases primarily affect women, and their symptoms are quite ambiguous. Therefore, discussions about these topics should be as intense as those about endometriosis or breast cancer. The percentage in which some conditions, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, affect women compared to men is 9:1. In this disease, sex hormones play an important role, and women of childbearing age are affected.

A few examples of autoimmune diseases more commonly encountered in women are vitiligo, Hashimoto’s disease, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, type I diabetes, antiphospholipid syndrome, celiac disease, lupus, and scleroderma. In this article, we will focus on providing information about lupus and scleroderma.

Most of these conditions are chronic and, unfortunately, incurable. They can worsen over time if left untreated. They can have periods of remission, so it is important to identify them early.

How can we successfully identify an autoimmune disease?

Usually, women come to the doctor with nonspecific symptoms, which complicates the physician’s job and may lead to misdiagnoses. In this situation, patients become frustrated, and the disease follows its natural course without treatment.

What is lupus?

Lupus is an autoimmune disease that affects multiple systems and tissues, with the body producing antibodies that attack the joints, skin, tendons, and organs.

If you have four or more of the symptoms listed below, you should consult a specialist:
• A reddish rash in a butterfly pattern on the face.
• A reddish rash (or red patches) on sun-exposed areas.
• Photosensitivity (rashes provoked or aggravated by sun exposure).
• Oral or nasal ulcers.
• Arthritis – swollen and painful joints (at least 2 affected joints).
• Inflammation of the membranes surrounding the heart or lungs (serositis).
• Kidney problems identified through blood or urine tests.
• Seizures or psychosis not caused by other conditions.
• Low blood cell count.
• Presence of antinuclear antibodies in laboratory tests.
• Immune dysfunction.

As a chronic disease, lupus affects the quality of life, and the earlier it is diagnosed, the better the chances of keeping it under control.

Each patient is different, so there are patients who may experience only symptoms like dizziness, acute fatigue, and joint pain that they may not pay attention to, or patients who may experience symptoms like significant hair loss.

The symptoms mentioned above should raise some questions for us.

A woman who wants to become pregnant and has an autoimmune disease should be aware that there are certain risks. Lupus during pregnancy can lead to disease flare-ups, hypertension, kidney impairment, preeclampsia, miscarriage, and premature birth.

Another autoimmune disease with a significant impact, especially on women, is scleroderma.

Scleroderma is characterized by autoimmunity and inflammation, functional and structural abnormalities of small blood vessels in multiple vascular beds (vasculopathy), as well as progressive interstitial and vascular fibrosis affecting the skin and internal organs.”