Premature Ovarian Insufficiency Linked to Autoimmune Diseases

TUESDAY, Oct. 1, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Women diagnosed with premature ovarian insufficiency (POI) have an increased prevalence of severe autoimmune diseases, according to a study published online Sept. 25 in Human Reproduction.

Susanna M. Savukoski, M.D., from Oulu University Hospital in Finland, and colleagues conducted a population-based registry study of 3,972 women diagnosed with spontaneous POI between 1988 and 2017 and 15,708 female population controls to examine the association with severe autoimmune diseases before and after POI diagnosis.

The researchers found that the prevalence of having at least one severe autoimmune disease was 5.6 percent in women with POI. Compared with controls, women with POI had an increased prevalence of several specific autoimmune diseases prior to the index date including polyglandular autoimmune diseases, Addison disease, vasculitis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, sarcoidosis, inflammatory bowel diseases, and hyperthyroidism. No difference was seen in the prevalence of type 1 diabetes or ankylosing spondylitis. During the first three years after POI diagnosis, the standardized incidence ratio for being diagnosed for the first time with a severe autoimmune disease was 2.8, which decreased to 1.3 after 12 years.

“The study results strengthen the hypothesis that autoimmune mechanisms play an important role in the pathogenesis of POI,” the authors write.

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