In a new study, Mayo Clinic researchers and collaborators have described — for the first time — the prevalence of autoimmune diseases in the U.S. Their research, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, reports that about 15 million people are estimated to have one or more of 105 autoimmune diseases. The study also found that autoimmune diseases occur most often in women and identified the top autoimmune diseases by prevalence, sex and age.
"Knowing the number of patients with an autoimmune disease in the U.S. is critical to assess whether these diseases are increasing or decreasing over time and with treatment," says the study's corresponding author, DeLisa Fairweather, Ph.D., vice-chair of translational research for the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Mayo Clinic in Florida. "Knowing this number is also critical for funding agencies to raise money and awareness for research into autoimmune diseases as a group and for individual autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis. Knowing which diseases occur more often in males or females and at what age is critical in understanding the pathogenesis of disease and how they impact the healthcare system." Dr. Fairweather also leads the Translational Cardiovascular Disease Research Laboratory.
