A sex-specific illness is an illness

Illness

Illness is a state of poor health. Illness is sometimes considered another word for disease. Others maintain that fine distinctions exist...

 or disease

Disease

A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...

 that occurs only in people of one sex

Sex

In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...

.

In a more general sense, sex-related illnesses are illnesses that are more common to one sex, or which manifest differently in each sex. For example, certain autoimmune disease

Autoimmune disease

Autoimmune diseases arise from an overactive immune response of the body against substances and tissues normally present in the body. In other words, the body actually attacks its own cells. The immune system mistakes some part of the body as a pathogen and attacks it. This may be restricted to...

s may occur predominantly in one sex, for unknown reasons. 90% of primary biliary cirrhosis

Primary biliary cirrhosis

Primary biliary cirrhosis, often abbreviated PBC, is an autoimmune disease of the liver marked by the slow progressive destruction of the small bile ducts within the liver. When these ducts are damaged, bile builds up in the liver and over time damages the tissue. This can lead to scarring,...

 cases are women, whereas primary sclerosing cholangitis

Primary sclerosing cholangitis

Primary sclerosing cholangitis is a chronic liver disease caused by progressive inflammation and scarring of the bile ducts of the liver. The inflammation impedes the flow of bile to the gut, which can ultimately lead to liver cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer...

 is more common in men.

Neither concept should be confused with sexually transmitted disease

Sexually transmitted disease

Sexually transmitted disease , also known as a sexually transmitted infection or venereal disease , is an illness that has a significant probability of transmission between humans by means of human sexual behavior, including vaginal intercourse, oral sex, and anal sex...

s, which are diseases that have a significant probability of transmission through sexual contact.

Sex-related illnesses have various causes:

• Sex-linked genetic illnesses
• Parts of the reproductive system
  Reproductive system
  The reproductive system or genital system is a system of organs within an organism which work together for the purpose of reproduction. Many non-living substances such as fluids, hormones, and pheromones are also important accessories to the reproductive system. Unlike most organ systems, the sexes...
  
   that are specific to one sex
• Social causes that relate to the gender role
  Gender role
  Gender roles refer to the set of social and behavioral norms that are considered to be socially appropriate for individuals of a specific sex in the context of a specific culture, which differ widely between cultures and over time...
  
   expected of that sex in a particular society.
• Different levels of prevention, reporting, diagnosis or treatment in each gender.

Women

Examples of sex-related illnesses in female humans:

• 99% of breast cancer
  Breast cancer
  Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
  
   occurs in women.
• Ovarian cancer
  Ovarian cancer
  Ovarian cancer is a cancerous growth arising from the ovary. Symptoms are frequently very subtle early on and may include: bloating, pelvic pain, difficulty eating and frequent urination, and are easily confused with other illnesses....
  
  , and other diseases of the female reproductive system occur only in women. Endometriosis
  Endometriosis
  Endometriosis is a gynecological medical condition in which cells from the lining of the uterus appear and flourish outside the uterine cavity, most commonly on the ovaries. The uterine cavity is lined by endometrial cells, which are under the influence of female hormones...
  
  , another female reproductive disorder occurs almost exclusively in women, but has rarely been found in men undergoing estrogen treatment for prostate cancer.
• More women than men suffer from osteoporosis
  Osteoporosis
  Osteoporosis is a disease of bones that leads to an increased risk of fracture. In osteoporosis the bone mineral density is reduced, bone microarchitecture is deteriorating, and the amount and variety of proteins in bone is altered...
  
  
• Autoimmune diseases, such as Sjögren's syndrome
  Sjögren's syndrome
  Sjögren's syndrome , also known as "Mikulicz disease" and "Sicca syndrome", is a systemic autoimmune disease in which immune cells attack and destroy the exocrine glands that produce tears and saliva....
  
   and scleroderma
  Scleroderma
  Systemic sclerosis or systemic scleroderma is a systemic autoimmune disease or systemic connective tissue disease that is a subtype of scleroderma.-Skin symptoms:...
  
  , are more prevalent in women. An estimated 75 percent of those living with autoimmune diseases are female.
• In Western cultures, more women than men suffer from eating disorder
  Eating disorder
  Eating disorders refer to a group of conditions defined by abnormal eating habits that may involve either insufficient or excessive food intake to the detriment of an individual's physical and mental health. Bulimia nervosa, anorexia nervosa, and binge eating disorder are the most common specific...
  
  s such as anorexia nervosa
  Anorexia nervosa
  Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by refusal to maintain a healthy body weight and an obsessive fear of gaining weight. Although commonly called "anorexia", that term on its own denotes any symptomatic loss of appetite and is not strictly accurate...
  
   and bulimia
• Alzheimer's disease
  Alzheimer's disease
  Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
  
   has a higher rate in women than in men.
• Women are more likely to suffer from unipolar clinical depression
  Clinical depression
  Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
  
   (although bipolar disorder
  Bipolar disorder
  Bipolar disorder or bipolar affective disorder, historically known as manic–depressive disorder, is a psychiatric diagnosis that describes a category of mood disorders defined by the presence of one or more episodes of abnormally elevated energy levels, cognition, and mood with or without one or...
  
   appears to affect both sexes equally)
• Psychologists are more likely to diagnose women than men with borderline
  Borderline personality disorder
  Borderline personality disorder is a personality disorder described as a prolonged disturbance of personality function in a person , characterized by depth and variability of moods.The disorder typically involves unusual levels of instability in mood; black and white thinking, or splitting; the...
  
   or histrionic personality disorder
  Histrionic personality disorder
  Histrionic personality disorder is defined by the American Psychiatric Association as a personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention-seeking, including an excessive need for approval and inappropriately seductive behavior, usually beginning in early...
  
  . There is no current agreement on whether this is because of a real underlying difference between the sexes, or simply because of deeply ingrained social attitudes.

Men

Examples of sex-related illnesses in male humans:

• Prostate cancer
  Prostate cancer
  Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
  
   and other diseases of the male reproductive system occur only in men.
• Diseases of X-linked recessive inheritance, such as colour blindness
  Color blindness
  Color blindness or color vision deficiency is the inability or decreased ability to see color, or perceive color differences, under lighting conditions when color vision is not normally impaired...
  
  , occur more frequently in men.
• Abdominal aortic aneurysm
  Abdominal aortic aneurysm
  Abdominal aortic aneurysm is a localized dilatation of the abdominal aorta exceeding the normal diameter by more than 50 percent, and is the most common form of aortic aneurysm...
  
  s are six times more common in men, and thus some countries have introduce screening for males at risk of suffering the condition.
• Autism
  Autism
  Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
  
   is approximately 4 times more prevalent in males than females.
• Psychologists are more likely to diagnose men than women with antisocial personality disorder
  Antisocial personality disorder
  Antisocial personality disorder is described by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, fourth edition , as an Axis II personality disorder characterized by "...a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violation of, the rights of others that begins in childhood...
  
  and substance-abuse disorders.