Volume 29, Issue 163, September 2025

More Than Hypermobility: Understanding Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome in Women – A Literature Review

Aleksandra Maria Żyta^1♦, Martyna Zwierzchowska¹, Joanna Karina Banaśkiewicz², Natalia Katarzyna Wagner-Bieleń³, Gabriela Helena Dąbrowska⁴, Agata Antoniak⁵, Anna Maria Jocz⁶, Anna Centkowska⁷, Maria Anna Żmijewska⁸, Jakub Ziółkowski¹

¹Independent Public Clinical Hospital of Prof. W. Orlowski CMKP, ul. Czerniakowska 231, 00-416 Warsaw, Poland
²Independent Public Health Care Complex - Hospital in Iłża, ul. Bodzentyńska 17, 27-100 Iłża, Poland
³Military Institute of Medicine - National Research Institute, ul. Szaserów 128, 04-141 Warsaw, Poland
⁴The Infant Jesus Teaching Hospital, ul. Williama Heerleina Lindleya 4, 02-005 Warsaw, Poland
⁵Praski Hospital of the Transfiguration of the Lord, al. "Solidarności" 67, 03-401 Warsaw, Poland
⁶Specialist Provincial Hospital in Ciechanów, Powstańców Wielkopolskich 2, 06-400 Ciechanów, Poland
⁷Wolski Hospital of Dr. Anna Gostyńska, ul. Marcina Kasprzaka 17, 01-211 Warsaw, Poland
⁸Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Warsaw, ul. Żwirki i Wigury 61, 02-091 Warsaw, Poland

^♦Corresponding author
Aleksandra Maria Żyta, Independent Public Clinical Hospital of Prof. W. Orlowski CMKP, ul. Czerniakowska 231, 00-416 Warsaw, Poland

ABSTRACT

Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS) is one of 13 recognised subtypes of inherited connective tissue disorders known as Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. It is the most common form, accounting for 80-90% of cases. The disease is estimated to affect 1 in 5000 people, with a gender ratio of 10 women to 1 man. This paper aims to evaluate the symptoms and manifestations of hEDS in women and to identify the factors that lead to delayed or missed diagnosis. The higher prevalence of hEDS in women, the observed later diagnosis in girls during childhood, and the significant negative consequences of diagnostic delays require a greater focus on earlier diagnosis and proper management. Greater educational efforts directed at clinicians are needed to ensure timely identification and appropriate care for women with hEDS.

Keywords: hEDS, hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, women, hypermobility

Medical Science, 2025, 29, e185ms3715

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v29i163.e185ms3715

Published: 27 September 2025