Hemophilia is a disease that is inherited and is associated with the sex of the patient. It manifests itself constantly throughout life, mainly in men, and this consequence does not depend on the race and socio-economic origin of the family in which hemophilia is detected. The clinical symptoms of severe hemophilia include hemorrhages in the joints, muscles, and other tissues, which can occur both spontaneously and as a result of minor injuries. Hemophilia can be seen as a classic example of a recessive disease related to a person’s sex.
The given article investigates the effect of hemophilia on the masculinity factor of men because even the smallest cut can lead to severe bleeding. The image of masculine men who are not bothered with scratches and small wounds is not applicable for men with hemophilia. The main reason for the excessive bleeding is the fact that these patients do not possess blood clotting factors, such as factor VIII or factor IX (Reinicke, Søgaard, & Mentzler, 2019). Therefore, the body lacks the defensive component of protecting itself by forming blood clots, which stop the bleeding process until skin cells divide and heal the cut. The article focuses on the masculine identity of men who suffer from hemophilia because the disease predominantly affects the male population, and it is X-chromosome-linked disorder (Reinicke et al., 2019). Women can be affected only if two recessive hemophilia alleles will be present in both X-chromosomes, whereas in men, only one X-chromosome is present and it cannot be masked or compensated by Y-chromosome. The major finding in the study is that hemophiliac men are highly affected by the disease, which can lead to the loss of masculine identity, treatment non-adherence, and depression (Reinicke et al., 2019). Therefore, the study shows that sex-linked diseases can have severe consequences, which are not bound by genetics only.
Reference
Reinicke, K., Søgaard, I. S., & Mentzler, S. (2019). Masculinity challenges for men with severe hemophilia. American Journal of Men’s Health, 13(4), 1-11.