The rise of autoimmune disease

While an already shocking 23.5 million Americans have an autoimmune disease, recent studies predict the prevalence of these issues will only increase. In 2020, the National Institutes of Health funded research that found that autoimmunity is rising at a particularly rapid pace in several different populations, but especially among young people. 

Yale School of Medicine defines autoimmunity as what occurs when the immune system loses tolerance of bodily tissue and behaves as if these cells were a pathogen. It’s as if two opposing sides are in a battle and the soldiers from one army start mistakenly killing their own comrades. It is also believed that autoimmunity can develop when the immune system overreacts to a pathogen within the body. Many different diseases fit into the category of an autoimmune illness. Type 1 diabetes, lupus, psoriasis and inflammatory bowel disease are just a few examples of autoimmune disorders. These maladies are uniquely different and target a wide range of body systems. 

The study mentioned above involved nearly 15,000 American individuals. Researchers used immunofluorescence, a technique where antibodies are tagged with fluorescent dye to observe the regularity of ANA, an antinuclear antibody that serves as the most common biomarker for autoimmunity. In general, biomarkers are measurable substances that can signal the development of a certain condition or disease. Therefore, higher levels of ANA would likely indicate a higher probability of developing or having an autoimmune disease. The study found that since the early 1990s, the prevalence of ANAs had jumped from 11.0% to 15.9%. While these values may not seem particularly significant, these percentages correspond to 22 million versus 41 million people presenting ANAs in recent years. The most shocking revelation in the research was the adolescent demographic. This group, consisting of 12-19 year-olds, had experienced the greatest increase in ANA levels – tripling the values found in the early 1990s. 

Despite the concerning statistics, there is little conclusive evidence for what is causing the biomarkers for autoimmunity to rise. Some scientists suggest that because humans haven’t genetically changed considerably in the last 30 years, lifestyle and environmental factors may be to blame for these increases. New discoveries like these are critical to prompt further studies and public health awareness. With how widespread and debilitating autoimmunity can be, developing an understanding of what causes these diseases and how to treat them is highly important. 

By: Nicole Hardt