Causes of ankylosing spondylitis in women

The incidence of ankylosing spondylitis in women has also begun to increase year by year. This is because women now face great pressure from work and social life, so they often cannot get a good rest at work. A frequent incorrect sitting posture and fatigue level can cause ankylosing spondylitis to suddenly occur, catching people off guard. Therefore, many women develop the disease very suddenly, and the symptoms are not very obvious in the early stages. So what is the cause of ankylosing spondylitis in women?

What causes ankylosing spondylitis in women?

1. Onset: The age of onset in males is 6 years earlier than in females. In men, the disease starts rapidly, with severe symptoms and rapid progression, accompanied by systemic symptoms such as fever, fatigue and weight loss. After the early onset of the disease, there is a period of remission without any symptoms, but it is relatively short. In women, the symptoms of ankylosing spondylitis are relatively mild, and the remission period sometimes lasts for several years.

2. Affected joints: Men often experience pain in the lumbar spine, sacroiliac joints, and hip joints; women with ankylosing spondylitis often experience swelling and pain in peripheral joints such as the wrists and elbows, especially the knee joints, where the incidence is higher than in men. As the disease progresses, the lumbar spine, cervical spine, hip joints and the entire spine are more commonly affected in men, with a high disability rate; women are less likely to have the entire spine affected, but their pubic symphysis is more often affected than men.

3. X-ray: Female ankylosing spondylitis patients do not show X-ray abnormalities within a few years of onset. Due to the anatomical and sex hormone characteristics of the female sacroiliac joint, sacroiliac joint lesions mostly remain in the inflammatory stage, and ankylosing is rare.

4. Infection: Women with ankylosing spondylitis are more likely to have postpartum infection factors than men.

Ankylosing spondylitis is often delayed in diagnosis or misdiagnosed in women. The incidence of sacroiliitis is equal in both sexes, but severe patients are more common in men. Female patients have milder symptoms and are more likely to have peripheral joint involvement, but the hip joints are less affected and are sometimes misdiagnosed as rheumatoid arthritis. Foreign surveys have shown that the course of the disease in most female patients is not affected by pregnancy and does not cause harm to the newborn.

Therefore, female ankylosing spondylitis patients should maintain healthy work and rest habits and sitting posture in their daily lives, and be able to exercise properly. They should have a positive and cooperative attitude during treatment. An optimistic and cheerful mood can be conducive to the treatment of the disease. The introduction to ankylosing spondylitis in this article also hopes to remind female friends not to work too hard, seek medical attention in time when they feel unwell, and avoid suffering from this disease.