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• List of Autoimmune Conditions

• Common Symptoms of Autoimmune Condition:

  • Fatigue

  • Joint pain and swelling

  • Skin problems

  • Abdominal pain or digestive issues

  • Recurring fever

  • Swollen glands

• Autoimmune diseases  effect 26,400,000 of the population of the United States. 78% of whom are women. 

• According to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Organization, different ethnic groups are more susceptible to certain autoimmune diseases. In lupus, for example, African-American, Hispanic, Asian and Native American women are two to three times more likely to develop the disease than Caucasian women.

• Autoimmune diseases tend to occur in families. If there’s one case of autoimmune disease in the family, there’s likely to be another case.  Bottom Line: if your family member has an autoimmune condition, tell your doctor and get the necessary testing. You will never regret finding out sooner. 

• 9 out of 10 people who have lupus are women.

• Symptoms cross many specialties and can affect all body organs.

• Medical education provides minimal learning about autoimmune disease.

• Specialists are generally unaware of interrelationships among the different autoimmune diseases or advances in treatment outside their own specialty area.

• Initial symptoms are often intermittent and unspecific until the disease becomes acute.

• Research is generally disease-specific and limited in scope. More information-sharing and crossover among research projects on different autoimmune diseases is needed.

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https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/what-are-common-symptoms-of-autoimmune-disease

https://www.aarda.org/who-we-help/patients/women-and-autoimmunity/1.

Society for Women’s Health Research and the National Women’s Health Resource Center, Inc. Autoimmune Diseases in Women. 2002.

National Women’s Health Information Center. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office on Women’s Health. WomensHealth.gov/faq/lupus.pd

https://www.aarda.org/who-we-help/patients/common-thread/

Fairweather, D., & Rose, N. R. (2004). Women and Autoimmune Diseases. Emerging Infectious Diseases, 10(11), 2005-2011. https://dx.doi.org/10.3201/eid1011.040367.

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