Evaluation of Sex Hormones in Autoimmune Diseases in Pre- and Post-Menopausal Women

Autoimmune diseases have shown biased proportion in female population, existing clinical investigations of sex hormones in autoimmune populations have been relatively limited in terms of patient size and types of hormones investigated. In this study, we examined the relationship of sexual hormones and autoimmune antibodies in a large cohort of US women. This retrospective study sample included a total of 15319 female subjects medical information that were collected between December 2015 to May 2019 and tested in the Vibrant America Clinical Laboratory. The present serum sample was limited to female participants who had ever menstruated at the time of blood collection and completed the testing of the autoimmune antibodies and sex hormones. We focused on a total of 13 clinically significant autoantibodies including antinuclear antibody (ANA), 11 anti-extractable nuclear antigens (anti-ENAs), anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide 3 (anti-CCP3), and 11 female sex hormones. First, the prevalence of serological autoantibodies in a large set of adult female subjects divided by the menopause age was investigated. Next, the levels of sex hormones were compared in the seropositive autoimmune subjects and seronegative controls across the pre- and post-menopausal female groups. The presented study involving a large cohort of females showed no statistically different levels of sex hormones in seropositive autoimmune subjects and matched controls except for DHEA-s.