Air Pollutants are a Likely Contributor to The Rising Incidence of Autoimmune Diseases

I’m amazed at the number of studies I read nowadays linking air pollution, water pollution and climate change in general to the rise in autoimmune diseases.

Wen et al 2024

A study by Wen et al investigated the possible role of air pollution in 15 autoimmune diseases. Data from the authors revealed that hypothyroidism, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus and celiac disease were all among the group of diseases causally associated with higher exposure to air pollution.

The authors propose that their research underscores the necessity of rigorous air pollutant surveillance within public health studies to curb the prevalence of autoimmune diseases.

Hu et al 2024

A new study by Hu et al. showed an association between small particulate matter and the risks of psoriasis, vitiligo, and lupus in a European population.

REFERENCES

Wen J et al. Large-scale genome-wide association studies reveal the genetic causal etiology between air pollutants and autoimmune diseases. J Transl Med . 2024 Apr 29;22(1):392. doi: 10.1186/s12967-024-04928-y

Hu H et al. Causal association between air pollution and autoimmune diseases: a two-sample Mendelian randomization study. Front Public Health . 2024 Mar 28:12:1333811. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1333811. eCollection 2024.