❦ The full picture of post-COVID-19 autoimmune diseases and their prevalence is lacking despite numerous case reports and small series.

Two studies that use large cohorts now highlight that SARS-CoV-2 infection is linked to a substantially increased risk of developing a diverse spectrum of new-onset autoimmune diseases.

The reports by Chang et al and Tesch et al provide a comprehensive overview of diverse new-onset autoimmune conditions after COVID-19.

In addition, an earlier preprint of a retrospective matched cohort analysis using data from the Clinical Practice Research Datalink Aurum database of 458,147 SARS-CoV-2-infected and 1,818,929 uninfected adults across England between 31 January 2020 and 30 June 2021 reported that the incidence of type 1 diabetes mellitus, inflammatory bowel disease and psoriasis are significantly associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Some of the earliest evidence that SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to dysregulated immune responses came from paediatric patients who presented with multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), which, as the name indicates, involves diffuse organ system involvement and a clinical spectrum that overlaps with other hyperinflammatory syndromes, such as Kawasaki disease, toxic-shock syndrome, and macrophage activation syndrome.

Since the start of the pandemic, many researchers have also reported isolated cases of adults with various post-COVID-19 autoimmune conditions.

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📖 (12 Apr 2023 ~ Nature Reviews: Rheumatology) High risk of autoimmune diseases after COVID-19 ➤

© 2023 Sharma & Jagadeesh / Nature.