PMID- 12192884
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20030130
LR  - 20151119
IS  - 1523-7036 (Print)
IS  - 1523-7036 (Linking)
VI  - 5
IP  - 4
DP  - 2002 Jul-Aug
TI  - Hormones, pregnancy, and rheumatoid arthritis.
PG  - 28-37
AB  - Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic autoimmune disorder that, like most 
      autoimmune diseases, is more common in women than in men. A significant body of 
      evidence implicates gender-specific factors in facilitating the development of 
      RA. Pregnancy has an ameliorating effect on disease activity, while the disease 
      tends to flare in the postpartum period. Estrogen-containing oral contraceptives 
      can modify the disease course or onset, hinting at a role for this hormone in 
      disease pathogenesis. Breast-feeding appears to increase the risk of RA, possibly 
      through the actions of the lactation hormone prolactin. Nonhormonal factors 
      associated with pregnancy may also be important in women with RA, especially the 
      degree of maternal-fetal human leukocyte antigen (HLA) incompatibility. This 
      article reviews data from human clinical and epidemiologic investigations as well 
      as experimental findings in animal models of chronic arthritis. Possible 
      mechanisms by which gender-specific factors modulate immune function are also 
      discussed.
FAU - Olsen, Nancy J
AU  - Olsen NJ
AD  - Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University, Room T-3219 MCN, 1161 21st Ave, 
      Nashville, TN 37232-2681, USA. nancy.olsen@mcmail.vanderbilt.edu
FAU - Kovacs, William J
AU  - Kovacs WJ
LA  - eng
GR  - AI41575/AI/NIAID NIH HHS/United States
GR  - DK41053/DK/NIDDK NIH HHS/United States
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
PT  - Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.
PT  - Review
PL  - United States
TA  - J Gend Specif Med
JT  - The journal of gender-specific medicine : JGSM : the official journal of the 
      Partnership for Women's Health at Columbia
JID - 100887298
RN  - 0 (Hormones)
SB  - IM
MH  - Arthritis, Rheumatoid/epidemiology/*etiology
MH  - Breast Feeding
MH  - Female
MH  - Hormones/*administration & dosage
MH  - Humans
MH  - Lactation
MH  - Postpartum Period
MH  - Pregnancy/*immunology
MH  - Sex Factors
MH  - Surveys and Questionnaires
RF  - 58
EDAT- 2002/08/24 10:00
MHDA- 2003/01/31 04:00
CRDT- 2002/08/24 10:00
PHST- 2002/08/24 10:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2003/01/31 04:00 [medline]
PHST- 2002/08/24 10:00 [entrez]
PST - ppublish
SO  - J Gend Specif Med. 2002 Jul-Aug;5(4):28-37.