Autoimmunity is an umbrella term for a number of medical condition with one common problem: the immune system. In autoimmunity, the body’s immune system mistakenly identifies healthy cells as invaders, and attacks them. This disease can present in various forms, and can affect any part of the body. For some, autoimmunity can disrupt hormone production, as in Hashimoto’s or Graves. In other people, it can present as symptom of inflammation, fatigue, and pain. Some people even experience neurological changes, as in cases of MS.
And while autoimmunity is not news to modern medicine, the increased number of reported cases per year is. It poses the questions - why are incidence reports on the rise, what, if anything, is causing its increase, and is there anything we can do about it?
According to recent research, the increase in the number of new autoimmunity diagnoses has been growing between 4% and 9% annually, with the highest reported onset of new disease being rheumatoid arthritis(1). Part of this increase may be contributed to increase awareness and accurate diagnosis or autoimmunity, particularly celiac disease. Another concern is the increase in likelihood of secondary autoimmunity in patients with previous diagnosis. Basically, once you have been diagnosed with one type of autoimmunity, the risk for developing another autoimmune disorder also increases.
What Causes Autoimmunity?
Our immune system responds to foreign invaders by attack and destroy tactics to keep the body healthy and strong. Sometimes, the body mistakes certain ‘self’ cells as an invader and triggers an immune response. Part of this response involves the production of both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, intended to create edema, white blood cell influx and tissue reconstruction, but also regulate the process as it occurs. There needs to be a careful balance between the two types of cytokines to avoid negative outcomes, and without it inflammation gets out of control and we lose grasp of immunologic tolerance to our own cells, leading to autoimmunity.
While there is no one single underlying cause for autoimmunity, multiple factors have been attributed to the disease development. Some of these factors include, but are be limited to:
What Causes Autoimmunity?
Our immune system responds to foreign invaders by attack and destroy tactics to keep the body healthy and strong. Sometimes, the body mistakes certain ‘self’ cells as an invader and triggers an immune response. Part of this response involves the production of both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, intended to create edema, white blood cell influx and tissue reconstruction, but also regulate the process as it occurs. There needs to be a careful balance between the two types of cytokines to avoid negative outcomes, and without it inflammation gets out of control and we lose grasp of immunologic tolerance to our own cells, leading to autoimmunity.
While there is no one single underlying cause for autoimmunity, multiple factors have been attributed to the disease development. Some of these factors include, but are be limited to:
- Stress
- Genetics
- Infectious Diseases
- Gut Dysbiosis
- Toxin & mold exposure
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