Summary: There are more than 80 known autoimmune disorders. Researchers recently made a great infographic of the 76 most common autoimmune conditions. They even color-coded them. In some autoimmune diseases, antibodies show up on tests. In others they do not. So the role of autoimmunity (the body attacking itself) differs from one condition to the next. These disorders can be hard to understand, even for medical experts. They start at different ages. They hit different organs, from the brain to the joints. So even experts struggle to remember all the facts about them. This infographic is not perfect, but it gives a great overview of autoimmune disorders.
It is hard to believe that the immune system, which is there to defend the body, may sometimes turn against it. But it is true. More than 80 known autoimmune conditions affect people.
The idea that the immune system may attack the body sounds absurd. Even the famous immune expert Paul Ehrlich (who later won the Nobel prize) first threw it out. But it is now all too clear that autoimmune disorders are not rare. In fact, they affect millions of lives around the world1.
More than 20 million Americans live with autoimmune disorders. It is worrying that these conditions are rising in rich countries. That points to a role for environment and lifestyle, too1—a concern that chronic pain specialists deal with more and more in their practices.
New studies have helped researchers understand autoimmune disorders better. They now know these conditions mainly happen when the body makes antibodies against its own cells (autoantibodies). These antibodies attack healthy tissue and may badly damage it.
There are so many autoimmune disorders that they can be hard to understand. They also look very different from one another. They start at different ages and show different signs. For example, type 1 diabetes has little in common with rheumatoid arthritis or narcolepsy.
What are the most common autoimmune diseases?
So researchers made a simple outline of the most common 76 autoimmune disorders. It helps make sense of the world of autoimmune diseases. It shows the body part hit, the age it starts, whether sex is a risk factor, and how common it is. It may serve as a learning aid for doctors. It may also give useful facts to the public.
Image credit: Jen Christiansen/Miriam Quick
This table/infographic is not perfect, but it does give a great overview. It is most useful because there are so many of these disorders. And each one is quite different from the rest.
It gets more complex. Not all of these disorders can be seen as pure autoimmune conditions. So researchers split them further into groups (shown by different colors in the image). For example, Graves’ disease has a strong association with autoantibodies, and the same is true for type 1 diabetes2.
But autoantibodies do not appear to play as big a role in some conditions, like psoriasis and ulcerative colitis. Still, researchers know these are autoimmune conditions, because they respond well to therapy that targets the immune system.
Also know that this table of autoimmune conditions is far from perfect. For example, it leaves out many diseases known to come from autoimmunity, like neuromyelitis optica. That is because not every condition was included in the study.
Autoimmune disorders are complex. How most of them work is not fully understood yet. Autoimmunity quite likely plays a part in many other diseases. Those are usually not counted as autoimmune.
To sum up, this infographic gives a great bird’s-eye view of the most common autoimmune disorders. It could be a quick way to learn more about them.
Frequently asked questions
How many autoimmune diseases are there?
More than 80 autoimmune conditions are known. The infographic on this page maps the 76 most common. It shows the part of the body each one affects, the usual age it starts, whether sex is a risk factor and how common it is. It is not a complete list. Conditions such as neuromyelitis optica were left out.
What causes an autoimmune disease?
An autoimmune disease begins when the immune system, which is there to defend the body, turns against it. The body makes antibodies against its own cells, called autoantibodies. These attack healthy tissue and can cause severe damage. These conditions are rising in rich countries. That points to environment and lifestyle as part of the cause.
How many Americans have an autoimmune disease?
More than 20 million Americans live with an autoimmune disorder, and the numbers are climbing in rich countries. These conditions vary widely, from type 1 diabetes to rheumatoid arthritis to narcolepsy. They strike different organs, from the brain to the joints. They also begin at different ages.
Do all autoimmune diseases have detectable autoantibodies?
No, and that is what the colors in the infographic show. Some conditions, such as Graves’ disease and type 1 diabetes, are strongly tied to autoantibodies. In others, such as psoriasis and ulcerative colitis, autoantibodies play a much smaller role. Yet they still count as autoimmune, because they respond well to therapy that targets the immune system.
References
- Rose NR. Prediction and Prevention of Autoimmune Disease in the 21st Century: A Review and Preview. American Journal of Epidemiology. 2016;183(5):403-406. doi:10.1093/aje/kwv292
- Severe victims of 76 autoimmune diseases. Jioforme. Accessed December 12, 2021. https://www.jioforme.com/severe-victims-of-76-autoimmune-diseases/740106/
Dr. Gurpreet Singh Padda, MD, MBA, MHP
