“many autoimmune disorders tend to affect women during periods of extensive stress, such as pregnancy, or during a great hormonal change.” Studies have identified links between endocrine transition states in women and the development of lupus, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and type 1 diabetes, among others; the reproductive years, medical school teaches, put women at risk for autoimmune disease, perhaps due to the hormonal changes during and after pregnancy.
