Graves' disease risk factors
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Risk Factors
Scientists don’t know exactly why some people develop Graves’ disease, but they believe factors such as age, sex, heredity, and emotional and environmental stress are involved.
Graves’ disease usually occurs in people younger than age 40 and is five to 10 times more common in women than men. An individual’s chance of developing Graves’ disease increases if other family members have it.
Researchers have not been able to find a specific gene that causes the disease to be passed from one generation to the next. Scientists know that some people inherit an immune system that can make antibodies against healthy cells, but predicting who will be affected is difficult.
People with other autoimmune diseases have an increased chance of developing Graves’ disease. Type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and vitiligo—a disorder in which some parts of the skin are not pigmented—are among the conditions associated with Graves’ disease.