Women May Be Developing Lupus Due to Sex Differences in Immune System Reactions

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a systemic autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation and affects all the major organs of the body. Being a systemic inflammatory disorder, lupus commonly presents a multitude of symptoms.

Interested in knowing what the symptoms of lupus are? Read more about it here.

Men and women respond differently to infections – a gender difference in immune responses that could help explain why some autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and multiple sclerosis are more likely to afflict one sex than the other.

But why does this happen? Why do women tend to develop lupus and men don’t?

SLE is much more prevalent in females than males, possibly due to differences in sex hormone metabolism. Only 4 to 18 percent of men have the autoimmune disease, supporting the idea that each sex has distinct immune reactions.

Read more about  how gender-related differences in reactions to infection could be based on different immune system reactions and why lupus affects more women than men.

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