Skip to main content

COVID-19 Linked to Long-Term Risk for Autoimmune, Autoinflammatory Disease

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

Medically reviewed by Carmen Pope, BPharm. Last updated on Nov 8, 2024.

via HealthDay

FRIDAY, Nov. 8, 2024 -- COVID-19 is associated with long-term risk for autoimmune and autoinflammatory connective tissue disorders, according to a study published online Nov. 6 in JAMA Dermatology.

Yeon-Woo Heo, M.D., from the Yonsei University Wonju College of Medicine in South Korea, and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study to examine the long-term risk for autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases after COVID-19. The analysis included individuals with confirmed COVID-19 from Oct. 8, 2020, to Dec. 31, 2022 (3,145,388 patients) and controls who participated in the general health examination in 2018 (3,767,039 controls) with an observation period of more than 180 days.

The researchers found that COVID-19 was significantly associated with an increased risk for alopecia areata, alopecia totalis, vitiligo, Behçet disease, Crohn disease, ulcerative colitis, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, Sjögren syndrome, ankylosing spondylitis, and bullous pemphigoid (adjusted hazard ratios, 1.11, 1.24, 1.11, 1.45, 1.35, 1.15, 1.09, 1.14, 1.13, 1.11, and 1.62, respectively). Demographic factors, including male and female sex, age younger than 40 years, and age 40 years and older, showed diverse associations with the risk for autoimmune and autoinflammatory outcomes in subgroup analyses. Higher risk was also seen in association with severe COVID-19 infection requiring intensive care unit admission, the delta period, and not being vaccinated.

"Understanding the specific vulnerabilities and disease patterns among different subgroups is crucial for mitigating the long-term impact of the pandemic on global health," the authors write.

Abstract/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)

Editorial (subscription or payment may be required)

Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.

© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.

Read this next

70 Percent Say They Would Conduct At-Home Test for Suspected COVID-19

WEDNESDAY, July 2, 2025 -- Seventy percent of U.S. adults would conduct a home test for suspected COVID-19, according to a study published online June 30 in JAMA Network...

2023 to 2024 COVID-19 Vaccine Provided Additional Effectiveness

WEDNESDAY, July 2, 2025 -- The 2023 to 2024 COVID-19 vaccine provided additional effectiveness against medically attended COVID-19, according to a study published online June 24...

Worse Outcomes Seen for Unvaccinated Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19, AKI

WEDNESDAY, June 18, 2025 -- For patients hospitalized with COVID-19 infection and acute kidney injury (AKI), those who are unvaccinated have worse outcomes in terms of kidney...

More news resources

Subscribe to our newsletter

Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.