Abstract
Despite the fact that women living in industrialized countries are likely to spend a third of their lives in menopause, the influence of the estrogen withdrawal associated with menopause on many body systems is not fully understood. This is particularly true of the immune system. Autoimmune diseases show a clear predominance in women, implying a central role for estrogen in their development. A thorough elucidation of that role, however, has been challenged by the observation of undeniable contributions to autoimmune disease by genetics, immunosenescence and environmental triggers as well. The global incidence of autoimmune disease has risen steadily in recent years, worldwide and in all ages, in parallel with steadily increasing global lifespans. Given the prevalence of autoimmunity in women, and the significant increase in the number of women in their postmenopausal years, the effect of menopause on autoimmunity is an area well deserving of further research effort.
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Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to Zeinab Schwen and Wendy Wippel (Strategic Regulatory Consulting, OH, USA) for review assistance with this manuscript and for Peggy Firth (Firth Studios, Medical Illustration Co.) for help in the medical illustration.
Financial & competing interests disclosure
MA Farage and KW Miller are employees of Proctor and Gamble. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed.
No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.