Autoimmune diseases and gender medicine, the topics of the XXXIX AIDM Congress

Gender differences and autoimmune diseases. These are the issues at the center of the XXXIX National Congress of the Italian Association of Women Physicians (AIDM). A difference, that between men and women, for a long time ignored even in health care and only recently returned to the forefront thanks to the decree on gender medicine.

Not only different ways of getting sick from the same diseases, but also different reactions in the face of health risks resulting from unhealthy lifestyles. Primarily alcohol, poor diet and, in particular, cigarette smoking.

The very issue of smoking will be the focus of the symposium

The very topic of smoking will be the focus of the symposium, “Cigarette Smoking and Rheumatologic Gender Pathology: Correlations and Possible Alternatives”: the session sponsored by Philip Morris Italia with PMI Science, will be led by AIDM President Antonella Vezzani, and Professor Maria Sole Chimenti, Researcher at the University of Rome “Tor Vergata” and President ReDO – Association of Women Rheumatologists.

In women, the potency of the risk factor caused by smoking is higher

Gender medicine and women’s health continue to be highly topical and important issues, and as AIDM we are proud to have been its spokesperson since 1921. Too often the biological difference between men and women has been ignored in medicine, as well as the different incidence of some diseases compared to others,” explained Dr. G. G. G. G. G., who has been in charge of the health care system for many years.ssa Vezzani “Cigarette smoking is undoubtedly emblematic in this regard: several studies have already shown a different response of women than men, and in the last 15 years lung cancer diagnoses in women have increased by 45%. In women, the potency of the risk factor caused by smoking is higher.”

Smoking is the cause of many diseases, including fatal ones

The Istituto Superiore di Sanità itself estimates that there are 11.6 million smokers in Italy, more than one in five Italians. Of these, 4.5 million are women, increasing especially in southern Italian regions.
“Smoking causes many diseases, including fatal ones: not only lungs but also heart, reproductive system and joint diseases.” continued Prof.ssa Chimenti “In the specific case of rheumatoid arthritis, a typical gendered disease, the data indicate how smoking habit increases the risk of developing this disease. It also highlights how changes in lifestyles, such as quitting smoking, can delay or even prevent the onset of the disease.”

Aim of the meeting therefore to clarify the correlations between gender diseases and smoking but also to make a reflection on alternative technologies to smoking, such as heated tobacco products and electronic cigarette and their potential in the fight against smoking.