I have three autoimmune conditions and now that I have a diagnosis of Lyme, I understand that will probably trigger a huge autoimmune response episode. Discovery of etiology is not done; I hope that researchers and doctors are doing their best to identify the triggers and effectively treat patients.
1. Autoimmune disease has grown to be a bigger problem than cancer and heart disease.
Collectively, autoimmune diseases are the most prevalent disease in the United States. According to the National Institutes of Health or NIH, 23.5 million Americans have an autoimmune disease. In comparison, cancer affects up to 9 million and heart disease up to 22 million. 23.5 million is a very modest estimate of autoimmune disease sufferers when you consider that it is a grossly underdiagnosed disease. Considering this as well as the fact that the NIH only looked at 24 autoimmune diseases out of over 80, well-respected authorities such as the American Autoimmune Related Disease Association or AARDA, estimates that the number is more accurately near 50 million. That’s 1 in 5 people.
2. Despite the fact that autoimmune disease is an obviously growing epidemic, doubling in the last three decades, it is being kept a secret.
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The Sick and the Dating 