There are more than 80 known Autoimmune conditions.
These chronic diseases have a significant impact on the economy, healthcare systems, families and the quality of life of the individual.
In Europe and North America, these conditions occur with an estimated incidence of ~90 cases per 100,000 person-years and a prevalence of between 7.6 and 9.4%.
80% of all individuals affected by autoimmune disorders tend to be women possibly due to variation within the sex chromosomes and hormonal changes.
Autoantibodies characteristics of a given autoimmune disease are present as early as 10 years before the onset of clinical disease.
Autoantibody prevalence is between 4% and 27% in the normal population.
Individuals may share pathways promoting autoreactivity, yet present with different autoimmune diseases.
To date, 186 statistically significant susceptibility loci have been identified in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of autoimmune/autoinflammatory diseases.
The role of environmental factors is in Autoimmunity is understood in respect of identical twins, where only 24-50 percent develop the same autoimmune disease.
Further clues on the environmental impact are that some autoimmune diseases are more common in polluted environments or worsen by additional triggers such as viruses or foods.
References