Autoimmune diseases on the rise

 Autoimmune diseases are rising at what scientists call “epidemic” rates, affecting 50 million people in the U.S. (An auto-immune disease is one in which the immune system produces antibodies that attack the body’s own tissues.) Although there are plenty of theories about why this is so, nobody really knows what is causing the rise. Some of the most well-known of these diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, inflammatory bowel disease, multiple sclerosis, type 1 diabetes, Guillain-Barre syndrome, psoriasis, Grave’s disease, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, Myasthenia gravis, and vasculitis. 

You might be surprised to discover that you know many people with autoimmune diseases. When I started thinking about it, I could name several people dealing with it. For example, we have only a few neighbors in our rural area, but one has rheumatoid arthritis, and another has Hashimoto’s disease (the immune system attacks the thyroid gland).

Autoimmune diseases are often triggered by viruses or bacteria. For example, long-term exposure to the bacteria that cause Lyme disease can trigger chronic autoimmune disease, as happened with the writer Amy Tam (and many others). Tam writes, “I suffered joint pain, head and muscle aches, insomnia, a racing heart, a gagging sensitivity to smells, constant nausea and exhaustion, plunging blood sugar, seizures and an obsession with my unknown illness. Worst of all, I could not read a paragraph and recall what it said.” 

Autoimmune diseases affect twice as many women as men. Unsurprisingly, women are twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with mental illness or lack of self-care. More than 45 percent have been labeled hypochondriacs—especially those patients who complain of unrelenting fatigue, pain, and brain fog. Because those are the same symptoms of long haul Covid, people (mostly women) presenting with those symptoms are now being taken seriously.

Maybe most of us have an as-yet-undiagnosed autoimmune disease. Now I’m wondering if my actinic keratosis (scaly patches on my skin) is a case in point.  Just a thought.

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