The link between COVID-19 and autoimmune diseases

In rare cases, some patients may develop an autoimmune disease subsequent to experiencing covid, as reported by korean researchers.

according to the new report, covid-19 infection can trigger conditions such as alopecia (hair loss), psoriasis, vitiligo (white skin patches), vasculitis (inflammation of blood vessels), crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, adult-onset still's disease (painful skin rash), sjogren's syndrome (autoimmune disease), ankylosing spondylitis (spinal arthritis), and sarcoidosis (enlarged lymph nodes).

the study found that covid-19 patients have increased odds of various types of alopecia ranging from 12% to 74%, tripled risk for vasculitis, 68% higher odds of crohn's disease, and 59% higher odds of sarcoidosis.

lead researcher dr. sung ha lim from the department of dermatology at yonsei university's wonju college of medicine in south korea said, "our findings highlight a significant association between sars-cov-2 infection and the development of autoimmune and auto-inflammatory disorders. this emphasizes the need for a comprehensive medical approach that encompasses both the acute manifestations and potential long-term complications of covid-19."

she further added, "given the significant global population of covid-19 survivors, vigilant monitoring for emergent autoimmune diseases is paramount for timely intervention."

dr. marc siegel, a professor of medicine at nyu langone medical center in new york city, stated that this study supports previous findings. he noted, "it is likely because when you defend yourself against covid, interferons are produced which trigger inflammation, which can then trigger auto-antibodies against the body's organs, muscles or nerves, especially when you have a tendency towards that disease in the first place."

for the study, dr. lim and her colleagues collected data on nearly 355,000 men and women who had covid-19, comparing them with more than 6 million people who did not have covid-19.

dr. lim added that the severity of covid infection and being unvaccinated contribute to an increased risk of developing these conditions. she said, "unvaccinated individuals exhibited a greater risk for certain autoimmune diseases, including alopecia areata, alopecia totalis, and crohn's disease."

the report was published online on october 6 in jama network open.

another expert, dr. bruce hirsch, an infectious disease specialist at northwell health in manhasset, n.y., expressed that he is not surprised that COVID-19 can trigger autoimmune diseases. he stated, "as all of us know, COVID impacts so many aspects of the human body. it's not surprising that COVID hit us the way it did without us having any pre-existing immune experience or immune protection, and it had a profound impact on the immune system."

dr. hirsch noted that this reaction is not exclusive to COVID-19 and that post-infectious autoimmune conditions can occur with other types of infections as well, not just limited to COVID.

positive developments include the population gaining more experience in terms of immune system recognition with COVID-19 due to cases and vaccinations. dr. hirsch stated, "i think the risk to any specific individual of an autoimmune condition like the ones that were described is very, very low. we're talking a couple out of 100,000, much below 1%."

he advised that the best overall protection against COVID-19 is getting vaccinated. dr. hirsch added, "it's our evolving immune experience that's going to reduce all these different risks and reduce the impact on us. i think one way of getting more immunologic experience without getting COVID is the COVID vaccines. i do think that taking additional COVID vaccines as they become available, including the current booster, is something that will be helpful."