There is an article in this month's Scientific American title "Women At Risk". You need a subscription to read but here is a Free article which includes much of what is in the paid one.
It is common knowledge women account for 80% of autoimmune diseases in this country. Let us be grateful there are many more female medical researchers now who actually CARE about this topic. Multiple studies show Testosterone plays a large role in suppressing autoimmune diseases. Men with low T develop these diseases at a higher rate than men with higher T. It seems Testosterone regulates gut microbes, which influence autoimmunity in the body, but the mechanics as to why are not understood.
It is believed hormonal changes play a large role in autoimmune disease, specifically estrogen levels. However, since women have lower Testosterone than men, lab researchers have been studying the effects of added T to see if it suppresses or protects female mice from these diseases. It does. But it's not just rats who are trying this out. Desperate patients are now seeing dramatic results from bio identical Testosterone in controlling their disease. I am not a doctor but as a woman I believe women deserve to have the power of knowledge to make decisions about their own health. Testosterone therapy in women is NOT new, despite what the American patriarchal medical society might tell you. It has been administered in Europe for Decades! As a side note, European doctors noticed a protective effect in breast cancer for post menopausal women on Testosterone.
Although not much is understood about autoimmune diseases, here are a few things you can do to lower your chances. Stress plays a role as well as smoking and obesity, so those are within our control. Every year, women should have their thyroid checked. This is paramount and many PCP's fail at this. So ask to have your thyroid levels checked and learn to check your own for nodules. Wish I had known this before being diagnosed last year with a thyroid nodule that is 2cm in diameter. My doctor failed me, don't let yours do the same.
The disparities in funding and research on women's health issues is a problem. Until that is corrected, we as women need to be our own best advocates. The internet is a great source of information, just be sure to check sources first. Do not limit yourself to American research. Europe is ahead of us when it comes to medical research in general.
