The Impact of Hormonal Contraception on Autoimmune Diseases

News Medical .net ^ | Deliana Infante

[CondoleezzaProtege]

Immunity is modulated by sex hormones and thus has an important role in the sex bias commonly seen in autoimmunity. Hormonal contraceptives are widely used by women, different studies show an association between their use and an increased risk of developing several autoimmune diseases.

The incidence and prevalence of autoimmune disorders are higher in women than in men. Approximately 78% of patients suffering from these pathological conditions are women.

It is known that hormones modulate the immune system. As an example, cortisol controls the immune response via the circadian rhythm, regulating T cell-mediated inflammation.

…Studies conducted in the past century confirmed that females exhibit an enhanced capacity for producing antibodies, giving them a greater ability to mount effective responses against infections.

As a result, women are generally less susceptible to viral infections than men. However, there is also a potential risk of hyper-immune responses leading to pathogenic effects and a predisposition to autoimmunity.

…To study the association between hormonal contraceptive use and autoimmunity, William V. William (2017) made a systematic review of the literature collecting different case-control and cohort studies in which the prevalence and incidence of autoimmune diseases and hormonal contraceptive exposure were studied. Some meta-analyses were taken into account.

The study found some evidence associating hormonal contraceptive use with an increased risk of developing autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis (MS), Crohn's disease, systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), ulcerative colitis, autoimmune thyroid disease (hypothyroidism), immune skin diseases and rheumatoid arthritis (RA), with a higher risk in groups characterized by the presence of antibodies against citrullinated proteins.

[logi_cal869]

Interesting. I’ve not seen any study from this angle.

It doesn’t explain male autoimmune disease prevalence, but it’s a good start (meaning that it’s sure to go down the black hole).

[bgill]

But whiny men can’t put on an umbrella or keep their pants on.

[Clutch Martin]

Gosh, why don’t I find this surprising?

[Freee-dame]

Bump

[MeganC]

A close friend of mine quit the pill because she said it made her crazy. She also quit her doctor who wanted to put her on Prozac instead of going off the pill.

Christie went off the pill and felt tons better.

I never tried it and never wanted to.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

I was put on it in the first months of my marriage because I had ovarian cysts.

My poor husband.

I knew most of what I was feeling was not real so I shut down everything. About two months into it I had such severe abdominal pain that he took me to the ER. The cysts had grown a centimeter in two months. I switched doctors.

The second not only took me off the pills but actually listened when I told him the things that I felt were not normal. A MRI was done and surgery was scheduled.

They claim they have hormonal birth control for men in the pipeline. Guys, learn from our experiences and don't use it.

[Basket_of_Deplorables]

Nothing personal, but this smells of Bad Science.

What is the increased risk? (i.e, 1%? 20%?)

What was the population? (i.e., post-menopausal women? 20 year olds?)

What was the confidence interval? (look it up lol)

I followed the link, found the 2017 study, and it smells.

But the FR Fear Porn crowd will wail, “Oh noooes!!!” without thinking.

Critical Thinking is on life support in the US.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

You are certified free of the thinking virus.

Take all the hormones you want.

No one will stop you.

But the fact that hormonal birth control is not exactly healthy is not anything new or ground breaking.

But curiously no one wants to talk about them. Because the only thing that matters is guys getting their jollies without having to use a condom or worry about having to support their child.