Academic Review 2024

35 ACADEMIC REVIEW 2024

The prevalence of autoimmune diseases in women

(Hoffman, 2020). Most of the rheumatological diseases mentioned disproportionately affect women more than men. With female to male ratio of 7:1 for systemic lupus erythematosus and 3:1 for rheumatoid arthritis (Vollenhoven, 2009). Symptoms of autoimmune disease include fatigue, swollen glands and joint pain and swelling. Getting a diagnosis today comes from looking at symptoms, blood markers and tissue biopsy (Orbai, 2019). A survey conducted by the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) showed that 45% of autoimmune patients report being called “chronic complainers” and being told they were too concerned about their health. These comments stem from medical myths which were used to put women down. Fatigue is one of the early symptoms, however many doctors dismiss patients’ fatigue by labelling it as stress. Many patients have to convince their doctors that they have fatigue which decreases their trust in their physician. Many women do not voice their symptoms for fear that they will be dismissed as they typically have been. Diagnostic delays are common and may be a result of implicit bias as stereotypes seeing women as chronic complainers lead to healthcare providers failing to acknowledge the severity of the symptoms. is body organ checklists being incorporated into healthcare. This means that people go to screening for the organs that they have. Data from a trans lives survey published in 2021 in the UK reports that 1 in 6 people have reported being denied care solely because of their trans status (Trans Lives survey, 2021). In general, trans people are left out of policies and programs. It was revealed by the global health 50/50 report in 2018 that 90% of organisations left them out (Operario & Restar, 2019). 45% of GPs in the UK do not have a good understanding of transgender healthcare needs. 6 out of 10 transgender people avoid medical help when they are unwell because of this (Trans Lives survey, 2021). They are aware of the lack of knowledge and are also hesitant because of the possible discrimination that they might face.

Autoimmune disease is categorized by pathological and molecular features which cause various chronic and sometimes life-threatening medical conditions (Roberts & Erdei, 2020). Autoimmunity is when the body’s immune system mistakenly perceives one of its cells/own parts as a foreign invader (Dinse, et al., 2020). About 50 million Americans are affected by autoimmunity and 80% of them are women (Kraft, 2021). Women are three times more likely to suffer from an autoimmune disease than men making it one of the top ten causes of death for women (National Stem Cell Foundation, 2022). Type 1 diabetes is an example of an autoimmune disease which affects both men and women equally (Malik, 2015). Beta cells in the pancreas are destroyed by the immune system meaning the hormone insulin cannot be produced. Insulin is responsible for regulating glucose levels in the blood (Rahman, et al., 2021) so people with type 1 diabetes have high blood sugar levels. Systemic lupus erythematosus affects multiple organs by causing systemic inflammation (American College of Rheumatology Committee, 2011). In Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, antibodies are made which attack the thyroid gland and in Graves’ disease antibodies are produced which cause the stimulation of the thyroid gland producing excess thyroid hormone Transgender women are women whose gender identity is different from that which they were thought to have at birth. One major problem is that transgender women may miss out on prostate cancer screening as the gender that they are registered under dictates the screening test they will get. The social construct gender is the personal identity of an individual which relates to their behaviour and the attributes commonly thought to comprise masculinity or femininity. Sex is defined as the ‘biological aspects of an individual as determined by their anatomy’ (Tolland & Evans, 2019). The lack of knowledge of transgender anatomy leads to transgender women receiving the wrong dosage of drugs. It needs to be taken into account the same way that doctors look at a patient’s weight, age and race. A simple solution to the problem How transgender women are overlooked in healthcare