Immune System/Expert

Studies confirm that women have in general a more effective immune response against viruses and other pathogens. One reason for this is that the female sexual hormone estrogen stimulate the production of IgG and IgM class antibodies. This results in a differing risk for infections between women and men and gives women an advantage over men in terms of successful defense against infectious diseases. In contrast however, there is a significantly higher incidence of autoimmune diseases in women compared to men. [1]

Back to Module 1: Sex and gender in medicine.

Literature

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  1. Kindler-Röhrborn A, Pfleiderer B. Gendermedizin - Modewort oder Notwendigkeit?: - Die Rolle des Geschlechts in der Medizin. XX 2012; 1(03):146–52.

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Last changed: 2021-03-03 13:54:16