Reasons why women are more likely to develop primary biliary cholangitis

Di Ma; Jiaxuan Ma; Chunmei Zhao; Wenlin Tai

doi:10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25634

Reasons why women are more likely to develop primary biliary cholangitis

Heliyon. 2024 Feb 10;10(4):e25634. doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e25634. eCollection 2024 Feb 29.

Authors

Di Ma¹, Jiaxuan Ma¹, Chunmei Zhao¹, Wenlin Tai¹

Affiliation

¹ Clinical Laboratory Department, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China.

Abstract

Primary biliary cholangitis (PBC) is a chronic autoimmune disease of biliary stasis in which immune factors cause the gradual destruction of small bile ducts, biliary stasis, and eventually the development of liver fibrosis, cirrhosis, and even liver failure. One of the main characteristics of PBC is that it primarily affects middle-aged women, but the precise cause is still unknown. This article analyzes the unique causes and mechanisms of the female predominance of PBC and summarizes the potential causes.The female domination of PBC is reported to be primarily caused by sex hormones, environmental circumstances, and epigenetic changes, each of which has a different subtle impact on patients' gender disparities.

Keywords: Environmental triggers; Epigenetic modifications; Female dominance; Primary biliary cholangitis; Sex hormones.

Publication types

Review