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Types of Autoimmune Diseases

Due to the fact that there are more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases, doctors usually categorize autoimmune diseases into groups by the body systems that they attack. The body systems that autoimmune diseases can affect include, but are not limited to, blood and blood vessels, the digestive tract, eyes, skin, and glands.

 

Types of Autoimmune Diseases: An Overview

There are more than 80 types of autoimmune diseases, which are also known as autoimmune disorders. Autoimmune diseases can affect almost any organ or body system. In many people with autoimmune disease, the first symptoms are fatigue, muscle aches, and low fever.
 

Types of Autoimmune Diseases and What They Affect

One way to group autoimmune diseases is by the body systems that they attack. The body systems that autoimmune diseases can affect include:
 
  • Blood and blood vessels
  • Digestive tract (including the mouth)
  • Eyes
  • Glands
  • Heart
  • Joints
  • Kidneys
  • Lungs
  • Muscles
  • Nerves and brain
  • Skin.
 
Blood and Blood Vessels
Types of autoimmune diseases that affect blood and blood vessels include:
 
  • Autoimmune hemolytic anemia
  • Pernicious anemia
  • Polyarteritis nodosa
  • Systemic lupus erythematosus
  • Wegener's granulomatosis.
 
Digestive Tract
Types of autoimmune diseases that affect the digestive tract (including the mouth) are:
 
(Types of Autoimmune Diseases Continued: Page 2)
Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD