Covid-19 increases the risk of autoimmune diseases by up to 43%

The connection of COVID-19 with autoimmune diseases was discovered in a new scientific study conducted by German scientists.

Covid-19 significantly increases the risk of an autoimmune* disease, according to an analysis of data from the largest-of-its-kind study conducted internationally.

** Autoimmune are diseases associated with a malfunction of the human immune system, which begins to perceive its own tissues as foreign and damage them.

The risk is up to 43% in the coming months after a first infection. Scientists have found that the more serious (heavier) the disease was, the more likely the subsequent risk of a person developing an autoimmune disease, writes lifo.gr.

Researchers at the Dresden University University Hospital and the medical school led by Falco Tes and Jochen Smith, who made the relevant preliminary publication in Medrxiv, analyzed data from almost 642,000 people who were diagnosed with Covid-19.

Subsequently, the risk of developing 30 different types of autoimmune diseases was compared within 3-15 months after the diagnosis of a viral infection. It is noted that about 10% of people in both groups (Covid-19 and Control) had pre-existing autoimmune health problems.

It was found that among people without an autoimmune history (history), more than 15% of those who had Covid-19 then developed autoimmune diseases, compared with about 11% in the control group. In other words, people who had Covid had a 43% increase in their chances of developing an autoimmune disease. In addition, among those who previously had any AID, 23% became more likely to develop an additional autoimmune disease (to an existing one).

Covid-19 was more strongly associated with an increased risk (by 63%) of vasculitis, inflammation of the blood vessels, and to a lesser extent with autoimmune thyroid problems (such as Hashimoto’s disease), psoriasis, and rheumatoid arthritis.

“These findings cannot be ignored. We must also explore how Covid-19 can potentially cause an autoimmune disease, as many people continue to suffer from its effects,” said Dr. Anuranda Subramanian from the British University of Birmingham.

In the past, other viral infections such as influenza have also been associated with autoimmune diseases (AIDs). On the other hand, the new study shows that there is simply a correlation, not a causal relationship.

It is not yet clear whether different variations of the coronavirus (such as Omikron) are associated with a higher or lower risk of subsequently developing an autoimmune disease, and to what extent vaccination against Covid-19 reduces this risk.

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