Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Gender Percentages?


jststric

Recommended Posts

jststric Contributor

After listening to the new mammogram recommedations that I feel takes women's healthcare back several steps, I got to thinking about all the times doctors have seemingly not had a clue (or care much) about my issues in the past. I got to wondering if anyone knows if Celiacs or gluten-intolerance has a gender majority? I know there are both men and women on here and suffer from it, but wondered if it seems to be more one than the other. Anyone know?


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



amberlynn Contributor

That's a very interesting question, and I'm going to be interested inthe results!

I know in the past, I've had a VERY hard time getting my doctor's to listen to my issues. Most of the time it was written off as 'hormonal', or they ignored me entirely (like when I was 14 and complained about my back hurting awfully and all the doc did was run a thumb down my spine and said I was fine - then sent me out of the room, and told my Dad I was just seeking attention :( , when in truth I had scoliosis causing severe pain). Migraines were due to my cycle or stress. Same with stomach issues. Very frustrating, and got to the point where I just gave up asking for help, and went withouth a doctor for years becasue of it. I'm still not sure that my current doctor takes me seriously, or just thinks that I'm a hypochrondiac.

Lisa16 Collaborator

This is tricky because so many people are undiagnosed.

I read that more women than men develop celiac disease, but that men tend to get sicker from it. But perhaps what this really means is that a man has to get pretty ill before they even consider testing for it? Maybe it is part of that whole macho-thing of men not complaining/ telling doctors they are sick until it gets them somewhere visible?

And definitely more women than men have been diagnosed with IBS.

However, I think I also read recently on a DH website that more men than women get DH. Go figure. But maybe it is not that surprising. I have the theory that having DH might mean the disease has reached the stage where your body is totally overwhelmed and it is expressing it through the skin. I feel strongly this is what happened to me after going undiagnosed over 20 years (it was a "late symptom" in my case). So maybe this happens to men too as part of our societal bias (ie women are more likely to complain about being chronically sick than men)?

jststric Contributor

This is exactly my point and cause for wondering. When I started having issues, my doctor, a female doctor at that, was clueless and even was convinced and had me tested for STD's! My major symptoms tend to be in very private places. She didn't believe that I and my husband had been completely monogomous with one another and no one else prior in more than 22 yrs! Of course, they came back negative. I have also had a history of pains and such not being taken seriously and explained away as hormonal. And the comment about symptoms being much worse for men......is that because they are taken more seriously? Or that women tend to take more pain before going to the doctor because of our experiences of being dismissed so easily?? See what I mean? And upon reflection, it seems that more of the posts in this site come from females. I don't mean to dismiss the males at all......it all just got me to wondering what the truth would really be.

summerteeth Enthusiast
That's a very interesting question, and I'm going to be interested inthe results!

I know in the past, I've had a VERY hard time getting my doctor's to listen to my issues. Most of the time it was written off as 'hormonal', or they ignored me entirely (like when I was 14 and complained about my back hurting awfully and all the doc did was run a thumb down my spine and said I was fine - then sent me out of the room, and told my Dad I was just seeking attention :( , when in truth I had scoliosis causing severe pain). Migraines were due to my cycle or stress. Same with stomach issues. Very frustrating, and got to the point where I just gave up asking for help, and went withouth a doctor for years becasue of it. I'm still not sure that my current doctor takes me seriously, or just thinks that I'm a hypochrondiac.

Ugh I know. I have had SO many doctors blame my maladies on "my cycle". Um... no. I used to have migraines for weeks at a time - with no pattern whatsoever. If it was related to my cycle, don't you think it would have a pattern?? Like maybe a 28 day pattern?!

And my stomach problems were always negated to my "fiber intake". Yeah, right. So that started a cycle of it's own - more bran, more wheat, more oats! Did not help AT ALL.

I get frustrated just thinking about it!

Lisa16 Collaborator

I know what you mean.

There is also the theory that women are actually "tougher" than men in the sense that we are built to be the last standing (for reproductive purposes, one assumes) and can take more pain and survive illness better (they say our hormones protect us from heart disease, say). We also have a higher percentage of body fat, which is a huge advantage when you have something like celiac disease.

These two theories (the women=survivors and the men=more undiagnosed) seem to contradict each other someplaces. Who really knows?

But I do think that in general women are more verbal and would tend ot talk about it more.

lizard00 Enthusiast

Women are at a higher risk for autoimmune diseases in general. I'm not sure if I read this or not, but my belief is that it's because women tend to have more of the stressors to trigger AI diseases than men. For me personally, childbirth did it.


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



carsondcat Newbie
Ugh I know. I have had SO many doctors blame my maladies on "my cycle". Um... no. I used to have migraines for weeks at a time - with no pattern whatsoever. If it was related to my cycle, don't you think it would have a pattern?? Like maybe a 28 day pattern?!

I get frustrated just thinking about it!

Just remembering the "migraines" where no medication would make it better and they would be endless in their duration... Haven't had a "migraine" since being gluten-free. I'm very thankful for that :)

Swimmr Contributor

I think it's not one gender or another who has it more...

HOWEVER, I think more men would ignore or ride off the symptoms longer than a woman, so there might be discrepancies there.

I would like to know if it's more prevalent in one race than another...I've wanted to ask, but was kinda keeping that to myself.

jststric Contributor
I think it's not one gender or another who has it more...

HOWEVER, I think more men would ignore or ride off the symptoms longer than a woman, so there might be discrepancies there.

I would like to know if it's more prevalent in one race than another...I've wanted to ask, but was kinda keeping that to myself.

I read somewhere that the beginnings, or gene origins, of gluten issues seemed to have come from the European Anglo-Saxon regions. I'm not much of a history person, but my background came from England, so I'm thinking that may be our ground zero. That COULD be why the European regions seem to know more and have better options in the eateries, and doctors know so much more than our US docs do. Just my suppositions and assumptions. I suspect like most everything else, it has morphed over the centuries to include more ethnicities these days.

Lisa16 Collaborator

I think that it is more a question of who is eating wheat. Celiac is not as prevalent in cultures that are not wheat-based. But when they start eating it, then it appears. It strikes people of every race and ethnicitiy. It is a "human thing"-- or maybe a "wheat thing" rather than a "race thing."

GottaSki Mentor

I've also seen statistics that women are more likely to get autoimmune diseases, but I think Celiac may be an equal opportunity disease.

For what I think...sometimes celiac is dormant until triggered by an event like illness, surgery or child birth...that last one may bring the numbers of disease triggered in women higher.

As for doctors...I often wondered if I would have been diagnosed sooner if I were male. I went to at least 8 doctors over 25 years with the same symptoms, only difference was the severity of the symptoms. Once severe enough I wouldn't stop until they found something. So if I were male with digestive issues along with boughts of fatigue, flu-like symptoms and constant anemia, would I have been dismissed as readily?????

amberlynn Contributor

"Equal Oppurtunity Disease" I like that, lol :lol:

Well, I did figure out that chocolate triggers migraines for me as well - I cannot handle even the tiniest amount of caffeine.

Glad I'm not the only one who got the 'get more fiber in your diet' junk. I was eating so much fiber, I was beyond bloated and in pain, and STILL having blood in my stool. I mean, really?!? This was shortly after my 2nd son was born, and they just kinda gave up on me. Whatever. I will never understand why he couldn't just run the necessary tests when I asked for them, and instead told me to just 'try the elimination diet, and log your food." Well, now I'm screwed out of a pure diagnosis. And I'm pretty sure he thinks I'm nuts.

ianm Apprentice

I am a male and my complaints about my health were completely ignored by doctors. All they would do is write me a dozen or so prescriptions each time and say, "One of these might work." The doctor issues are just as bad on this side of the gender fence.

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - MichelleGrant replied to MichelleGrant's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      5

      Months of diarrhea - Testing question

    2. - fritz2 replied to VinnieVan's topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      13

      Question

    3. - trents replied to Nikki03's topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Confused about test results.

    4. - Nikki03 posted a topic in Celiac Disease Pre-Diagnosis, Testing & Symptoms
      1

      Confused about test results.

    5. - trents replied to VinnieVan's topic in Introduce Yourself / Share Stuff
      13

      Question


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      128,770
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Mary Carrig
    Newest Member
    Mary Carrig
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.1k
    • Total Posts
      71.2k

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • MichelleGrant
      I received my blood test results for celiac serology (attached file). Results were negative. Only thing not great is CRP at 5mg/L (indicating inflammation), High ferritin at 165 (also indicating inflammation). My doctor said to keep following a strict gluten-free diet and that my tolerance to gluten seems to have gotten worse, and created inflammation with all the diarrhea/ stomach issues. She said to also stay away from my other triggers which are alcohol, soy, legumes and some vegetables (eg. cabbage / cauliflower / brussel sprouts). I generally follow a low fodmap diet. The gluten-free diet is going well - things are returning to normal.
    • fritz2
      So what relieves the joint pain?
    • trents
      Welcome to the forum, @Nikki03! What was the other result from the other physician's lab work? The test result you report in your post is not a celiac disease diagnostic test. It is a test for IGA deficiency. It is also known as "total IGA". There are other IGA antibody tests that are used to diagnose celiac disease but if you are IGA deficient, their scores will be artificially low. Obviously, you are not IGA deficient so if there were other IGA antibody tests run they should be trusted as accurate unless you had been on a gluten free or reduced gluten diet before the blood sample was taken. So, if you have other test results, please post them along with (this is important) their reference ranges. Raw test scores without reference ranges are not necessarily helpful as different labs used different reference ranges. Here is an article that describes the various antibody tests that can be ordered when checking for celiac disease: As you can see, there are IGA tests and there are IGG tests. What are your symptoms? There is another gluten disorder known as Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) that shares many GI symptoms with celiac disease and is 10x more common than celiac disease. There are no tests for NCGS so celiac disease must first be ruled out by formal testing.
    • Nikki03
      I had celiac labs done and got two different result from two physicians. I have tons of celiac symptoms and suspected it for a while now but this has me so confused can you help?    my labs results read as follows  immunoglobulin A QN =419 which was off the chart high but everything but that was in normal range.               Thanks sincerely confused!   
    • trents
      As I mentioned above, NCGS stands for Non Celiac Gluten Sensitivity. Celiac disease and NCGS share many of the same GI distress symptoms but NCGS does not damage the lining of the small bowel as does celiac disease and is not an autoimmune condition, as is celiac disease. NCGS is 10x more common than celiac disease but there are no tests for it. Celiac disease must first be ruled out. We actually know much more about celiac disease than we do about NCGS. Some experts believe NCGS can be a precursor to celiac disease. The only known antidote for either is total abstinence from gluten. Joint pain is a well-established symptom of celiac disease, one of the more than 200 symptoms on a growing list. And many of them present as non-GI related.
×
×
  • Create New...