The European Alliance of Associations for Rheumatology has reported an influx in the prevalence of auto-inflammatory and autoimmune diseases. Autoimmune conditions are diseases that occur when the body’s immune system mistakes healthy tissues for harmful cells and attacks normal cells. There is currently no cure for autoimmune diseases, but patients can use various treatments to manage the conditions and minimize organ damage.
Although the association posits that the increase in autoimmune cases may be due to environmental factors, researchers don’t have enough data to come to a concrete conclusion. A team of researchers from the EULAR analyzed nearly 20 of the most common autoimmune disorders to fill up this information gap. They assessed autoimmunity trends over time and by age, sex, region, season and socioeconomic status.
The research team then used health data collected from 22 million United Kingdom citizens to calculate the prevalence and incidence rate of autoimmune diseases before modeling variation and temporal trends. The data showed that autoimmune diseases had a prevalence rate of 7.4% in men and 13.1% in women, with a general prevalence rate of 10%. The researchers noted that incidence rates went up by 4% from 2000 to 2019 in both men and women.
They found that coeliac disease, Sjogren’s syndrome and Graves’ disease had the largest increases among all autoimmune diseases, doubling over the entire study period. On the other hand, the incidence rates for pernicious anemia and Hashimoto’s thyroiditis decreased significantly over the past 20 years.
Interestingly, the research team found that several autoimmune diseases, including pernicious anemia, Grave’s disease, systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, had some connection to socioeconomic status. They also discovered regional variations in the diagnosis of some autoimmune conditions as well as seasonal variations in conditions such as vitiligo and type 1 diabetes.
Furthermore, the researchers found a modest increase in the burden of autoimmune conditions over time, noting that this increase could be due to earlier diagnosis, better coding practices, and regional, seasonal and socioeconomic disparities.
The National Institutes for Health estimates that around 5% to 10% of the American population have autoimmune diseases. They are the third most prevalent cause of chronic illness in the nation, with women being much more likely to develop autoimmune conditions. In addition, their prevalence seems to be increasing over time. Women suffer from autoimmunity at such greater rates that they are the fourth largest cause of disability in women and the National Institutes for Health has termed the condition a significant women’s health issue.
Many companies such as BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: BVXV) are rising up to the challenge and developing treatments aimed at addressing the clinical needs of patients diagnosed with autoimmune conditions so that those individuals can enjoy a better quality of life or even reverse the progression of the diseases.
NOTE TO INVESTORS: The latest news and updates relating to BiondVax Pharmaceuticals Ltd. (NASDAQ: BVXV) are available in the company’s newsroom at https://ibn.fm/BVXV
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