People infected with COVID-19 over the past three years face an additional risk of developing autoimmune diseases. According to a recently published study, this probability increases to 43% when it comes to patients with previous COVID-19 infection. While scientists have previously linked COVID-19 to an increased risk of autoimmune disease, these were relatively small studies that only focused on a few health conditions at a time.
What are autoimmune diseases?
The immune system is a network of cells and tissues throughout the body that work to protect you from viruses, bacteria, and infections. However, people suffering from autoimmune diseases face problems in the functioning of the body’s immune system.
In such cases, the cells mistakenly target the body’s own healthy tissue, signaling the body to attack them. It can affect any part of the body including the heart, brain, nerves, lungs, muscles and even the skin.
How does COVID-19 link to autoimmune diseases?
“…we found a 42.63% higher likelihood of acquiring autoimmunity for patients who had been diagnosed with COVID-19. This estimate was similar for common autoimmune diseases, such as Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, rheumatoid arthritis, or Sjogren’s syndrome,” the yet-to-be peer-reviewed study states.
According to the comprehensive study, the highest incidence rate ratio was noted for the autoimmune disease of the vasculitis group. Patients with a more severe course of COVID-19 were at higher risk of developing autoimmune diseases.
Researchers studied 641,704 patients with COVID-19 to conclude that “SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with an increased risk of developing new-onset autoimmune diseases following the acute phase of infection.”
While vasculitis — which causes inflammation of the blood vessels — led the list, the researchers also found strong links to other autoimmune-driven problems. These included issues with the thyroid gland, the skin condition psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis, which causes inflammation in the joints.
How many people have been infected with COVID-19 so far?
According to the COVID-19 tracker run by John Hopkins University, 674,956,123 cases have been reported worldwide so far. The data is drawn from official sources and it is unclear whether cases were not reported in some parts of the world (allegations to this effect have been made several times over the past three years).
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