Why are women at greater risk of autoimmune diseases? | 90 Seconds w/ Lisa Kim

Somewhere between 24 and 50 million Americans have an autoimmune disease, a condition in which the immune system attacks our own tissues. As many as 4 out of 5 of those people are women.

Rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and scleroderma are examples of autoimmune disorders marked by lopsided female-to-male ratios. The ratio for lupus is 9 to 1; for Sjogren’s syndrome, it’s 19 to 1.

Stanford Medicine scientists and their colleagues have traced this disparity to the most fundamental feature differentiating biological female mammals from males, possibly fostering a better way to predict autoimmune disorders before they develop.

Howard Chang, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Dermatology and of Genetics and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. He is also the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor in Cancer Research and director of the RNA Medicine Program.

Lisa Kim is Senior Manager of Media Relations for Stanford Medicine and Stanford Health Care. Lisa has a deep background in journalism, as she is an Emmy Award-winning journalist who has covered stories on both the national and local levels.

#AutoimmuneDiseases #WomensHealth #Genetics #rheumatoidarthritis #multiplesclerosis #scleroderma #lupus #sjogrenssyndrome

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