I am trying to find the recent discussion on the topic re: females presenting with more cases of Lyme as opposed to males. I sort of remember it taking place in relation to a posted study, but can't recall who posted this or what the study title was. So, the search feature isn't returning any results.
Any help is very much appreciated. M
Posted by ChuckG (Member # 19093) on :
Lyme disease: epidemiologic characteristics of an outbreak in Westchester County, NY
URL for .PDF Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
Hey Chuck, thanks so much for replying, but the study you link to was conducted in 1986, and is not what I was looking for, unfortunately.
I was really not only after the study but also the discussion that followed. Thanks though, much appreciated!
Posted by AliG (Member # 9734) on :
There's this topic that comes up searching "men women" and "male female", "New Study on Chronic Lyme by Wormser and Shapiro", but it "doesn't exist" anymore.
Could that have been it? Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
Hey Miss Ali, Thank you so much... I bet that was it. Goodness, why can't some behave themselves? Posted by AliG (Member # 9734) on :
Now THAT, my dear, is something I'm almost CERTAIN I'll never find an answer for!
Perhaps the general frustration we all experience causes some people to need to vent anywhere they can or to stir things up in order to vent.?
I didn't see the thread so I have NO idea what may have happened in that particular one. Posted by Lymeorsomething (Member # 16359) on :
This is not what you want but it is a study about gender...
Lyme borreliosis reinfection: might it be explained by a gender difference in immune response? http://tinyurl.com/menrvx Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
Here is the study, but I was really wanting the discussion that followed too:
Wormser GP, Shapiro ED Implications of gender in chronic Lyme disease. [Journal Article, Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural] J Womens Health (Larchmt) 2009 Jun; 18(6):831-4.
BACKGROUND: "Post-Lyme disease syndrome" refers to prolonged subjective symptoms after antibiotic treatment and resolution of an objective manifestation of Borrelia burgdorferi infection (Lyme disease). "Chronic Lyme disease" is a vaguely defined term that has been applied to patients with unexplained prolonged subjective symptoms, whether or not there was or is evidence of B. burgdorferi infection.
OBJECTIVE: To determine if the population of patients with chronic Lyme disease differs from the populations of patients with either Lyme disease or post-Lyme disease syndrome by examining the gender of patients with these diagnoses.
Methods: Data on gender were compiled in this cross-sectional study based on a systematic review of published studies of antibiotic treatment in United States patients with post-Lyme disease syndrome (n = 184) or chronic Lyme disease (n = 490), and on cases of adults with Lyme disease reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2003 to 2005 (n = 43,282).
RESULTS: Patients with chronic Lyme disease were significantly more likely to be female than were patients diagnosed with either Lyme disease (odds ratio [OR] 2.42, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.98-2.94, p less than 0.0001) or with post-Lyme disease syndrome (OR 2.32, 95% CI 1.62-3.34, p less than 0.0001).
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with chronic Lyme disease differ with regard to gender from those with either B. burgdorferi infection or post-Lyme disease syndrome. This finding suggests that illnesses with a female preponderance, such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, or depression, may be misdiagnosed as chronic Lyme disease.
Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
Thank you Lymeorsomething. That was really interesting too!
Posted by Lymeorsomething (Member # 16359) on :
That study is preposterous
Actually the study I posted offers some reason for the gender difference as opposed to the cloudy judgement of Wormser and co...
Posted by Lymeorsomething (Member # 16359) on :
I'm glad I'm not the only one poring over studies on a friday night lol
Posted by Melanie Reber (Member # 3707) on :
Hahahah! Sad, isn't it? I'm sure it must have something to do with being a female, ya think?
Yes, the study itself was really not great, but the discussion on the post, that seems to have been deleted, was.
Posted by northstar (Member # 7911) on :
response to wormer/shapiro article: sorry, I could not get it to cut/paste
Journal of Women's Health Gender Bias in Chronic Lyme Disease
Raphael B. Stricker, Lorraine Johnson.
Journal of Women's Health. October 2009, 18(10): 1717-1718. doi:10.1089/jwh.2009.1657. Published in Volume: 18 Issue 10: October 26, 2009
Raphael B. Stricker, M.D. and Lorraine Johnson, J.D., M.B.A. International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, Bethesda, Maryland.
Posted by Marnie (Member # 773) on :
Women are more prone to autoimmune diseases than men.
It may have to do with the fact that we make more enzymes than men do...or
The fact that during pregnancy, we have to alter our immune response so we don't attack the fetus.
Look at the link between estrogen and PKC.
Men's bones are larger - more minerals stored.
Men's muscles are bigger - more mitochondria where more Mg-ATP is available (we need a lot of energy to move our muscles).
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