- According to the INEGI, only 44 out of every 100 women are affiliated with a health institution.
- Within the wide range of rare diseases that exist, there are two that stand out because they are considered the most common among women.
- Generalized pustular psoriasis (PPG) is more prevalent in women between the ages of 40-60, while scleroderma affects four women for every man.
The field of health is quite extensive and there is still much to discover. In the same way that there are some high-incidence problems, there are also other very infrequent ones. Within this second category are rare diseases and despite their name there are some that are common among women, do you know what they are?
Firstly, it is estimated that worldwide there are up to 7 thousand different rare diseases. While in Mexico at least 8 million people live with one of these conditions. Therefore, it is by no means a minor issue nor should it be neglected, but it is necessary to increase research.
What is a rare disease?
They are considered in this classification when they occur in no more than five cases per 10,000 inhabitants. They are characterized by having a high mortality rate, but a low or very low prevalence. In general, these diseases behave with a very severe chronic evolution, with multiple motor, sensory and cognitive deficiencies. Therefore, they usually present a high level of clinical complexity that makes their diagnosis and recognition difficult. They can manifest from birth, during childhood and in adulthood.
The most common rare diseases in women
Now, within the wide variety of There are two rare diseases that are the most common among women. These are generalized pustular psoriasis (PPG) and scleroderma.
“Generalized pustular psoriasis is a low-prevalence inflammatory and systemic disease that affects patients of a productive age, especially women between 40 and 60 years of age. It generates heterogeneous symptoms ranging from fever, fatigue and general malaise, in addition to the appearance of painful pustules all over the body”, stated Dr. Alma Medrano, a geneticist.
Although there are no exact figures on how many patients there are in our country, it is estimated that PPG has a prevalence of 1-9 per million people. Being a disease with such diverse manifestations, it is common for patients to spend many years without proper diagnosis and treatment. This late diagnosis can increase the risk of mortality, in addition to clearly affecting their quality of life.
PPG manifests itself in exacerbations, known as flare-ups. These can lead to hospitalization with life-threatening complications, such as heart failure, kidney failure, sepsis, and even death.
On the other hand, the systemic sclerosis, also known as scleroderma, is a rare disease, also manifested in the skin, which causes hardening of the skin, as well as blood vessels, heart, lungs and kidneys. It has a higher prevalence in women with a 4:1 ratio and at an age ranging from 30-50 years.
Despite the fact that in Mexico just over 50% of the population are women, according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), only 48% of them have a job and only 44 out of 1,002 are affiliated with a health institution. This limits access to medical care, as well as the diagnosis and treatment of a complex illness, which alters their family, social and productive dynamics.
It is estimated that the indirect cost of caring for rare diseaseswhich includes the loss of productivity of patients or their family caregivers, can amount to 548 billion dollars globally.
In the case of patients living with scleroderma, in addition to the manifestations on the skin, there is an affectation that can put risk his life. Scleroderma is part of a group of fibrosing diseases that affect various vital internal organs such as the lungs. This lung involvement, known as progressive pulmonary fibrosis, will be present in between 40 and 50% of patients with scleroderma.
Also read:
Rare Diseases: Neither so few nor so unknown
Graphic of the day: The only 20 rare diseases that are recognized in Mexico
This is the first Rare Disease Medical Unit in Mexico