Nikhil Prasad Fact checked by:Thailand Medical News Team Aug 12, 2026 58 minutes ago
A major systematic review involving data from tens of millions of people has found that COVID-19 infection is consistently associated with an increased risk of developing new autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases. The findings suggest the effect can involve the joints, skin, blood vessels, thyroid, digestive system, blood and nervous system, although the absolute risk for any individual remains relatively low.
A large systematic review suggests COVID-19 infection may increase the subsequent risk of several new autoimmune
diseases
Researchers Reviewed Eight Large Studies
Researchers examined eight controlled cohort studies from the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, South Korea, Japan and Hong Kong. All compared people with confirmed COVID-19 against people without COVID-19, while several used statistical methods to make the groups more comparable.
The researchers are from Al Dhafra Hospitals, Abu Dhabi Health Service Company (SEHA), United Arab Emirates; Heartlands Hospital, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom; Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, United Kingdom; Alazhar University of Cairo, Egypt; Khartoum University, Sudan; Dr. Sulaiman Al Habib Hospital, Saudi Arabia; Al-Azhar University, Egypt; Independent Practice in Amman, Jordan; and The National Ribat University, Sudan.
Some Autoimmune Risks Rose Sharply
Across all eight studies, COVID-19 was linked with increased risks for at least some newly diagnosed autoimmune conditions. Particularly notable were connective tissue diseases, vasculitis, which involves inflammation of blood vessels, and antibody-mediated disorders.
One US analysis reported almost threefold higher adjusted risks of rheumatoid arthritis and systemic lupus erythematosus following COVID-19. Ankylosing spondylitis showed an adjusted hazard ratio of 3.21, while vasculitis had a ratio of 1.96.
A Hong Kong study produced similarly concerning signals. Multiple sclerosis had an adjusted hazard ratio of 2.66, pemphigoid 2.39, antiphospholipid syndrome 2.12 and immune thrombocytopenia 2.10. Other studies identified increased risks involving psoriasis, alopecia, vitiligo, Graves disease, inflammatory bowel disease, type 1 diabetes and other inflammatory conditions.
Severe COVID-19 Appeared More Important
An important finding highlighted in this Thailand
Medical News report is that autoimmune risk was not identical for everyone. Several studies found a severity-dependent pattern: people who experienced more severe acute COVID-19 subsequently had greater autoimmune risk.
Researchers also found evidence that the increased risk may decline with time. A South Korea-Japan analysis showed the association weakened during 12 months of follow-up. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong cohort found COVID-19 vaccination was associated with reduced risk of several autoimmune conditions occurring after infection.
Scientists believe several biological mechanisms could potentially explain the findings. SARS-CoV-2 can stimula
te autoantibodies that mistakenly react against the body's own components. Molecular mimicry, where parts of the virus resemble human molecules, could potentially confuse immune defenses. Intense inflammation and persistent viral antigens may also help disrupt normal immune tolerance.
Important Limitations Remain
The researchers stressed that these findings demonstrate an association rather than proving that COVID-19 directly causes autoimmune disease. All included studies were observational, leaving possibilities such as residual confounding and detection bias. People diagnosed with COVID-19 may also receive more medical attention, increasing the chance that an emerging autoimmune condition is discovered.
Importantly, even when relative risks doubled or tripled, the absolute chance of an individual developing any particular autoimmune disease remained low.
Conclusions
The findings indicate that COVID-19 is associated with a modest but meaningful increase in new autoimmune diseases, particularly connective tissue, vasculitic and antibody-mediated disorders. Severe infections appear to carry greater risk, while time and possibly vaccination may modify that risk. Longer prospective studies are now needed to determine whether SARS-CoV-2 directly causes these illnesses and identify which patients are genuinely most vulnerable.
The study findings were published in the peer reviewed journal: Cureus.
https://www.cureus.com/articles/508282-autoimmune-manifestations-following-covid-19-infection-a-systematic-review#!/
Read Also:
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/coronavirus
https://www.thailandmedical.news/articles/long-covid 
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