Discussion: Why do women, on average, suffer from autoimmune diseases twice as often as men?

One accepted explanation in the literature for this phenomenon is that women have a more robust immune system than men; therefore, when the immune system attacks itself, it is more intense.

The fact that women have a more robust immune system is correct and is also why women live, on average, between 6 and 8 years longer than men. The female hormone estrogen protects women's liver (in reproductive ages). Better liver function improves tissue regeneration and repair ability. Women have a critical role in childbirth and raising children, especially early childhood, so nature has given them an evolutionary advantage. Conversely, men were given an accelerated muscle-building ability utilizing the male sex hormone testosterone.

The accepted thesis does not stand the test of reality when we examine the facts. The most plausible explanation is that hormonal fluctuations cause the phenomenon. In women, menstrual cycles, births, and birth control pills cause inflammation and blockage of the gallbladder in a similar ratio to the incidence of autoimmune diseases. The normal flow of bile has a critical impact on the immune system.

Type 1 diabetes (juvenile diabetes) is a common autoimmune disease in which the situation is reversed. Men get the disease more frequently than women, with the ratio decreasing with age. In autoimmune diseases of the thyroid gland (the endocrine system) that affect people of older ages (Graves' disease and Hashimoto), we will find that the ratio increases dramatically in the direction in which women get sick several times more often than men, which reinforces the claim that hormonal fluctuations explain the significant gaps between women and men.