14 serious diseases that strike women more than men

Although sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are ‘equal opportunity diseases’, they have disproportionately serious effects for women, and they’re on the rise. “Differences in human anatomy make it more challenging to recognise the symptoms of infection in women, and so many infections are undiagnosed,” says Dr Harvey Kaufman. “As a result, women are much more likely to suffer long-term health impacts, such as pelvic inflammatory disease and infertility from diseases such as chlamydia and gonorrhoea.” Herpes and syphilis can also be dangerous to women and their babies during pregnancy and human papillomavirus (HPV) can cause cervical cancer. Although many STIs are asymptomatic, if you have any strange symptoms like sores, unusual discharge, painful urination, or abdominal pain, see your doctor. Dr Kaufman says prevention is key, so get the HPV vaccination, use condoms, and go for routine screenings.

To protect females from cervical cancer, males need to be vaccinated against HPV.

Also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis, chronic fatigue syndrome has similar symptoms to an autoimmune disease but isn’t currently considered one. Marked by extreme exhaustion, women are two to four times more likely to get it than men, according to the HHS. Its causes are little understood, diagnosis can be difficult, and there are no approved treatments. Some research, though, is illuminating the reasons some women develop it: A 2017 study published in the journal PNAS found that certain proteins, or cytokines, in the blood could increase inflammation and fuel the disease.

According to the American Thyroid Association, women are five to eight times more likely to have a thyroid problem than men, and one in eight women will develop it during her lifetime. Hypothyroidism, in which your thyroid doesn’t produce enough hormone to regulate your metabolism, is the most common thyroid issue. And, if you have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, there’s a 90% chance that it’s caused by Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, an autoimmune disease, says biophysicist Sarah Ballantyne. “Symptoms of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis include weight gain, headaches, depression, fatigue, cold hands and feet, constipation, dry skin, hair loss or thinning hair, joint pain stiffness, muscle aches, memory problems or ‘brain fog,’ and heavy or irregular menstrual periods in women.” Luckily, it can be diagnosed with a simple blood test and easily treated with medication.

Your thyroid could be the culprit behind a surprising range of symptoms.

Yet another autoimmune disease that attacks women more than men is multiple sclerosis (MS). In fact, it’s three times more common in women than in men, according to the US National Multiple Sclerosis Society. With MS, your body attacks the nerves in the brain and spinal cord, resulting in pain, numbness and weakness. Although there’s no definitive answer yet as to why more women have the disease, researchers are looking into possible connections to hormonal factors and sex differences in the brain, as well as body fat. Treatment to slow the progression of MS involves physical therapy, medications and lifestyle modifications.

Otherwise known as gluten intolerance, coeliac is an autoimmune condition in which the body attacks the digestive system, marked by diarrhoea, bloating, gas and heartburn. More than half of sufferers are women, according to the HHS. Symptoms may sometimes be confused with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which is also more common in women. Eating gluten-free can relieve coeliac symptoms, though. Interestingly, Hashimoto’s disease is associated with other autoimmune diseases, including coeliac, according to the American Thyroid Association. “Hashimoto’s disease is frequently co-morbid with coeliac disease, meaning you have a higher chance of having both diseases if you’ve been diagnosed with one or the other,” says Dr Ballantyne. “This is because the same gene that increases the risk of coeliac disease, the variant HLA-DQ2, also increases the risk of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis.”

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Source: RD.com

Medically reviewed by Dr Tia Jackson-Bey