“Numbers of autoimmune cases began to increase about 40 years ago in the west,” Lee told the Observer.
For example, the biggest recent increase in inflammatory bowel disease cases has been in the Middle East and east Asia.
Autoimmune diseases range from type 1 diabetes to rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis.
Internationally, it is now estimated that cases of autoimmune diseases are rising by between 3% and 9% a year.
“So something must be changing in the outside world in a way that is increasing our predisposition to autoimmune disease.”.
“If you don’t have a certain genetic susceptibility, you won’t necessarily get an autoimmune disease, no matter how many Big Macs you eat,” said Vinuesa.
In this way, it is possible to identify common genetic patterns among those suffering from an autoimmune disease. »
