Health

Full List of Autoimmune Diseases (Plus Symptom Checklist)

Written by Claire Hannum

Updated on August 10, 2024

Autoimmune diseases are the third most common cause of chronic diseases in the US, and despite how common they are, they’re widely misunderstood by the general public (1).

So what are these confusing conditions? Autoimmune diseases happen when your immune system attacks your own body.

Usually, the job of the immune system is to protect your body by sending cells to fight against invaders like viruses and bacteria. But when you have an autoimmune disease, your immune system confuses body parts like your joints, muscles, or skin for “invaders” and starts wreaking havoc on healthy cells. Certain autoimmune diseases only attack one part of the body, while others impact the entire body.

Women are about twice as likely as men to develop an autoimmune disease, and having one autoimmune disease increases your risk of getting another (2, 3).

If you have an autoimmune disease—or suspect you might have one—here’s a full list of autoimmune diseases out there, along with symptoms to look out for.

Table Of Contents

Autoimmune Disease List

Some of the most well-known autoimmune diseases include lupus, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis (MS), inflammatory bowel disease, Addison’s disease, and celiac disease, but there are many more.

Below is a full list of autoimmune diseases. The list also includes several variants, subtypes, and suspected autoimmune diseases, as many experts are still undecided about whether some illnesses fit into this category.

A through K

  • Achalasia
  • Addison’s disease
  • Adult Still’s disease
  • Agammaglobulinemia
  • Alopecia areata
  • Amyloidosis
  • Ankylosing spondylitis
  • Anti-GBM/Anti-TBM nephritis
  • Antiphospholipid syndrome
  • Autoimmune angioedema
  • Autoimmune dysautonomia
  • Autoimmune encephalitis
  • Autoimmune hepatitis
  • Autoimmune inner ear disease (AIED)
  • Autoimmune myocarditis
  • Autoimmune oophoritis
  • Autoimmune orchitis
  • Autoimmune pancreatitis
  • Autoimmune retinopathy
  • Autoimmune urticaria
  • Axonal & neuronal neuropathy (AMAN)
  • Baló disease
  • Behcet’s disease
  • Benign mucosal pemphigoid (Mucous membrane pemphigoid)
  • Bullous pemphigoid
  • Castleman disease (CD)
  • Celiac disease
  • Chagas disease
  • Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP)
  • Chronic recurrent multifocal osteomyelitis (CRMO)
  • Churg-Strauss syndrome (CSS) or Eosinophilic granulomatosis (EGPA)
  • Cicatricial pemphigoid
  • Cogan’s syndrome
  • Cold agglutinin disease
  • Complex regional pain syndrome (formerly called reflex sympathetic dystrophy)
  • Congenital heart block
  • Coxsackie myocarditis
  • CREST syndrome
  • Crohn’s disease
  • Dermatitis herpetiformis
  • Dermatomyositis
  • Devic’s disease (neuromyelitis optica)
  • Discoid lupus
  • Dressler’s syndrome
  • Endometriosis
  • Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE)
  • Eosinophilic fasciitis
  • Erythema nodosum
  • Essential mixed cryoglobulinemia
  • Evans syndrome
  • Fibrosing alveolitis
  • Giant cell arteritis (temporal arteritis)
  • Giant cell myocarditis
  • Glomerulonephritis
  • Goodpasture’s syndrome
  • Granulomatosis with polyangiitis
  • Graves’ disease
  • Guillain-Barre syndrome
  • Hashimoto’s thyroiditis
  • Hemolytic anemia
  • Henoch-Schonlein purpura (HSP)
  • Herpes gestationis or pemphigoid gestationis (PG)
  • Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) (Acne inversa)
  • IgA nephropathy
  • IgG4-related sclerosing disease
  • Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP)
  • Inclusion body myositis (IBM)
  • Interstitial cystitis (IC)
  • Juvenile arthritis
  • Juvenile diabetes (Type 1 diabetes)
  • Juvenile myositis (JM)
  • Kawasaki disease

L through Z

  • Lambert-Eaton syndrome
  • Lichen planus
  • Lichen sclerosis
  • Ligneous conjunctivitis
  • Linear IgA disease (LAD)
  • Lupus
  • Lyme disease chronic
  • Meniere’s disease
  • Microscopic polyangiitis (MPA)
  • Mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD)
  • Mucha-Habermann disease
  • Multifocal motor neuropathy (MMN) or MMNCB
  • Multiple sclerosis
  • Myasthenia gravis
  • Myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein antibody disorder
  • Myositis
  • Narcolepsy
  • Neonatal lupus
  • Neuromyelitis Optica / Devic disease
  • Neutropenia
  • Ocular cicatricial pemphigoid
  • Optic neuritis
  • Palindromic rheumatism (PR)
  • PANDAS (Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcus infections)
  • Paraneoplastic cerebellar degeneration (PCD)
  • Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH)
  • Pars planitis (peripheral uveitis)
  • Parsonage-Turner syndrome
  • Pemphigus
  • Peripheral neuropathy
  • Perivenous encephalomyelitis
  • Pernicious anemia (PA)
  • POEMS syndrome
  • Polyarteritis nodosa
  • Polyglandular syndromes type I, II, III
  • Polymyalgia rheumatica
  • Polymyositis
  • Postmyocardial infarction syndrome
  • Postpericardiotomy syndrome
  • Primary biliary cholangitis
  • Primary sclerosing cholangitis
  • Progesterone dermatitis
  • Progressive hemifacial atrophy (PHA) Parry Romberg syndrome
  • Psoriasis
  • Psoriatic arthritis
  • Pure red cell aplasia (PRCA)
  • Pyoderma gangrenosum
  • Raynaud’s phenomenon
  • Reactive arthritis
  • Relapsing polychondritis
  • Restless legs syndrome (RLS)
  • Retroperitoneal fibrosis
  • Rheumatic fever
  • Rheumatoid arthritis
  • Sarcoidosis
  • Schmidt syndrome or Autoimmune polyendocrine syndrome type II
  • Scleritis
  • Scleroderma
  • Sjögren’s Disease
  • Stiff person syndrome (SPS)
  • Susac’s syndrome
  • Sympathetic ophthalmia (SO)
  • Takayasu’s arteritis
  • Temporal arteritis/giant cell arteritis
  • Thrombocytopenic purpura (TTP)
  • Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura (Ttp)
  • Thyroid eye disease (Ted)
  • Tolosa-Hunt syndrome (THS)
  • Transverse myelitis
  • Type 1 diabetes
  • Ulcerative colitis (UC)
  • Undifferentiated connective tissue disease (UCTD)
  • Uveitis
  • Vasculitis
  • Vitiligo
  • Vogt-Koyanagi-Harada disease
  • Warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia

Autoimmune Disease Symptom Checklist

Many autoimmune diseases have their own distinct symptoms, like thirst with type 1 diabetes or stomach pain with inflammatory bowel disease. But there are also a handful of similar symptoms that a large proportion of autoimmune diseases have in common. These symptoms might come and go based on whether you’re having a flare-up.

Young woman with a red rash on her arm from an autoimmune disease.

Here’s what to look out for:

  • Muscle Aches
  • Redness
  • Swelling
  • Fatigue
  • Struggles With Concentrating
  • Low-Grade Fever
  • Rashes
  • Hair Loss
  • Numbness or Tingling in Hands and Feet

What Supplement Can Help?

Lately, a growing amount of evidence has shown a link between autoimmune diseases and an abnormal inflammatory response from the body (4).

As a result, supplements that ease inflammation could help manage the symptoms of your autoimmune disease, or even help reduce your risk of getting one in the first place. Research especially points to omega-3s as a fantastic tool for this (5, 6, 7).

Omega-3s are fatty acids that come from foods like eggs or certain types of fish and nuts. And they come with all kinds of health benefits (8, 9)...

Selection of whole foods with omega-3s: salmon, eggs, nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil.

In 2021, a new long-term study indicated that omega-3 fatty acids, along with vitamin D, could help prevent autoimmune diseases (10). In the study, older adults who took omega-3 and vitamin D supplements for five years saw a whopping 25-30% decrease in their risk of developing autoimmune diseases!

Other research has found that getting enough omega-3s in your first year of life can reduce the risk of several autoimmune diseases, including multiple sclerosis and type 1 diabetes (11, 12, 13). Omega-3s were also found to be beneficial in treating rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, ulcerative colitis, psoriasis, and Crohn’s disease (14, 15, 16, 17).

Unfortunately, you’re probably not getting enough of them. Most people who eat a typical American diet aren’t able to get all of the omega-3s they need from food alone (18, 19). That’s where supplementing comes in.

One easy way to get a regular dose of omega-3s is by taking krill oil. Think of krill oil as an upgraded version of fish oil, which many people assumed was the go-to for omega-3s for decades. Krill oil packs the same powerful omega-3 punch as fish oil, but with an added boost of extra antioxidants, and no fishy aftertaste.

The Bottom Line

Women are twice as likely as men to develop autoimmune diseases. Many have the same set of symptoms, so it’s important to be aware of which to look out for. Autoimmune diseases may be prevented by omega-3s, which you can get through diet changes and daily supplementing.

Claire Hannum
Article by

Claire Hannum

Claire Hannum is a New York City-based writer, editor, wellness seeker, and reiki practitioner. Her writing has appeared in Self, Health, Prevention, and over a dozen other publications.

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    Medical Disclaimer

    This content is for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to provide medical advice or to take the place of such advice or treatment from a personal physician. All readers/viewers of this content are advised to consult their doctors or qualified health professionals regarding specific health questions. Neither Dr. Chad Walding nor the publisher of this content takes responsibility for possible health consequences of any person or persons reading or following the information in this educational content. All viewers of this content, especially those taking prescription or over-the-counter medications, should consult their physicians before beginning any nutrition, supplement, or lifestyle program.

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