Hormones
Hormones are the messengers of the body. They control many of the functions of the body. Researchers have looked at the association between estrogen and lupus since nine out of every 10 cases of lupus are in women.
While both males and females produce estrogen, its development in females is much higher. Many women get more lupus signs [3] before menstruation and during pregnancy which is the period estrogen hormone synthesis is high. This may mean that the severity of lupus is somehow regulated by estrogen. No specific correlation between estrogen, and lupus, however, has been confirmed.
After a research [4] on women that have lupus and are taking estrogen either as postmenopausal or birth control pill, it was noted that there was no significant increase in the activity of the disease.
Researchers are also concentrating on variations, beyond hormone levels, between men and women, which may explain why women are more vulnerable to developing lupus and equally other autoimmune diseases.