From the previous articlethis articleWe know that allergies and autoimmune diseases have a potential interaction in their underlying mechanisms, rather than being discussed independently as previously thought. Therefore, a further discussion involves real-world data: what is the risk of developing autoimmune diseases in people with chronic allergies in the future? The author referenced a high-quality research paper for data analysis:
This article was published in a prestigious international journal in 2019.European Respiratory JournalofpaperThe title is:Long-term risk of allergic and autoimmune diseases: generational studies and cluster analyses(Allergic diseases and long-term risk of autoimmune disorders: longitudinal cohort study and cluster analysis). The following is a key analysis of the findings:
1. Research Objectives
- Purpose: Investigation of patientsAllergic rhinitis/conjunctivitis (ARC),Atopic eczema and Asthma The study aims to predict the future incidence of various autoimmune diseases in patients and explore patterns of co-occurrence among these diseases.
2. Research Methods
- Data sourceThe study used data from the UK Health Improvement Network (THIN), covering the period from 1990 to 2018.
- Research subjects:
- Exposure groupThis includes patients with ARC (approximately 780,000 people), atopic dermatitis (approximately 1.39 million people), and asthma (approximately 1.05 million people).
- control groupFor each case, a maximum of two age- and sex-matched subjects with no history of allergies were randomly selected.
- Analytical techniquesThe adjusted incidence rate ratio (aIRR) was calculated using regression, and cross-sectional studies were conducted using association rule mining (ARM) to analyze disease clustering.
3. Main Research Results
- Increased general riskPatients with the above three allergic diseases have a significantly higher risk of developing multiple autoimmune diseases in the future than the control group.
- Specific disease association:
- Allergic rhinitis (ARC)The association with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE, aIRR: 1.45) and Sjögren's syndrome (aIRR 1.88) was most significant.
- AsthmaIt is associated with an increased risk of systemic lupus erythematosus (aIRR: 1.44), Sjögren's syndrome (aIRR 1.61), and myasthenia gravis (aIRR: 1.56).
- Atopic dermatitis (Eczema)It was significantly associated with an increased risk of systemic lupus erythematosus (aIRR: 1.86), Sjögren's syndrome (aIRR: 1.48), vitiligo (aIRR: 1.54), and psoriasis (aIRR: 2.41).
- Other relatedRheumatoid arthritis, pernicious anemia, inflammatory bowel disease, celiac disease, and autoimmune thyroiditis are also more common in allergy sufferers.
- No significant associationStudies have found that allergic diseases are related to...Multiple sclerosis (MS) There is no significant correlation between them.
- Disease clustersAssociation analysis showed that allergies and various autoimmune diseases exhibited age- and sex-related clustering patterns, especially in... Women over 55 It exhibits the most complex comorbidity pattern.
4. Research Conclusions
This study clearly reveals that patients with allergic diseases have a significantly higher long-term risk of autoimmune diseases, and also corroborates the existence of a potential common immunopathological mechanism between allergies and autoimmunity.
🩺 Dr. L's friendly reminder: The old habit of treating allergies in various subspecialties should be gradually phased out. Especially after understanding the potential for allergic diseases to develop into autoimmune diseases in the future, we should focus more on treating the root cause rather than just the symptoms, so as to avoid creating more vicious cycles in the body and ultimately leading to multiple comorbidities.
〈The author is former Attending Physician in National Taiwan University Hospital, and Master of Science from National Taiwan University〉