The key COVID-19 findings in rheumatology, distilled into a clear, readable brief. The evidence is here whenever you want to go deeper.
INSIDE THIS MONITOR
25cited sources
4available findings
Study findings updated
AI-assisted evidence summary. For general information. These findings are not individual medical advice or a clinician endorsement.
THE SHORT VERSION
What’s worth knowing.
The key findings, what they mean, and the context that matters.
THE HEADLINE TAKEAWAY
COVID-19 was linked to increased autoimmune disease risk
A retrospective cohort study reported increased risk of autoimmune diseases affecting multiple organ systems after COVID-19.
The study concerned patients with COVID-19. The named reference group, follow-up and exact risk measure behind the reported percentage are not available in this summary.
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Increased risk of autoimmune disease after COVID-19
43%
Chang R, Yen-Ting Chen T, Wang SI, Hung YM, Chen HY, Wei CJ. Risk of autoimmune diseases in patients with COVID-19: A retrospective cohort study. EClinicalMedicine (Lancet). 2023;56:101783.
Several rheumatic diagnoses showed increases across separate reports
A matched cohort study linked SARS-CoV-2 infection to an increase in new-onset rheumatoid arthritis. Separate publications reported increased inflammatory myopathy associated with COVID-19 and increased new-onset systemic lupus following COVID-19 diagnosis.
These are separate results, not head-to-head comparisons. The summaries do not provide enough population, comparator or follow-up detail to compare their reported magnitudes.
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Rheumatoid Arthritis
+98% HR 1.98 (95% CI: 1.72-2.28)
Tesch F, Ehm F, Vivirito A, et al. Incident autoimmune diseases in association with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a matched cohort study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2023;82:1423-1430.
Antiphospholipid antibodies were detected in patients hospitalized with COVID-19
52%
Antiphospholipid antibodies were detected in 52% of patients hospitalized with COVID-19.
The percentage measures antibody prevalence, not the proportion with blood clots or a rheumatic diagnosis. The study design is not recorded in this summary.
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Antiphospholipid Antibodies
52% Prevalence in hospitalized patients (95% CI: 44-60%)
Zuo Y, Estes SK, Ali RA, et al. Prothrombotic autoantibodies in serum from patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Science Translational Medicine. 2020;12:eabd3876.
Tesch F, Ehm F, Vivirito A, et al. Incident autoimmune diseases in association with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a matched cohort study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2023;82:1423-1430.
Zuo Y, Estes SK, Ali RA, et al. Prothrombotic autoantibodies in serum from patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Science Translational Medicine. 2020;12:eabd3876.
Tesch F, Ehm F, Vivirito A, et al. Incident autoimmune diseases in association with SARS-CoV-2 infection: a matched cohort study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2023;82:1423-1430.
Zuo Y, Estes SK, Ali RA, et al. Prothrombotic autoantibodies in serum from patients hospitalized with COVID-19. Science Translational Medicine. 2020;12:eabd3876.
Sparks JA, Wallace ZS, Engel AE, et al. COVID-19 and flares in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a cohort study. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2022;81:e208.
Strangfeld A, Schafer M, Gianfrancesco MA, et al. Factors associated with COVID-19-related death in people with rheumatic diseases: results from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance physician-reported registry. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2021;80:930-942.
Kanduc D, Shoenfeld Y. Molecular mimicry between SARS-CoV-2 spike glycoprotein and mammalian proteomes: implications for the vaccine. Immunologic Research. 2020;68:310-313.
Vojdani A, Kharrazian D. Potential antigenic cross-reactivity between SARS-CoV-2 and human tissue with a possible link to an increase in autoimmune diseases. Clinical Immunology. 2020;217:108480.
Woodruff MC, Ramonell RP, Nguyen DC, et al. Extrafollicular B cell responses correlate with neutralizing antibodies and morbidity in COVID-19. Nature Immunology. 2020;21:1506-1516.
American College of Rheumatology. COVID-19 Vaccine Clinical Guidance for Patients with Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases. Updated 2023.
Original source link unavailable
[17]
Landewe RB, Kroon FPB, Alunno A, et al. EULAR recommendations for the management and vaccination of people with rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases in the context of SARS-CoV-2: the November 2021 update. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2022;81:1628-1639.
Subramanian A, Nirantharakumar K, Hughes S, et al. Symptoms and risk factors for long COVID in non-hospitalized adults. Nature Medicine. 2022;28:1706-1714.
Gianfrancesco M, Hyrich KL, Al-Adely S, et al. Characteristics associated with hospitalisation for COVID-19 in people with rheumatic disease: data from the COVID-19 Global Rheumatology Alliance physician-reported registry. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2020;79:859-866.
Pego-Reigosa JM, Restrepo Velez J, Baldini C, et al. COVID-19 in systemic lupus erythematosus: registry data from SLE patients followed in Spain. Lupus. 2022;31:1249-1258.
Original source link unavailable
[22]
Borghi MO, Beltagy A, Garrafa E, et al. Anti-phospholipid antibodies in COVID-19 are different from those detectable in the anti-phospholipid syndrome. Frontiers in Immunology. 2020;11:584241.
This is an AI-assisted evidence summary, not a clinician endorsement. Read each original paper for its complete methods, population and limitations. Different studies can ask different questions and report different kinds of results.
Dates marked “added” describe when a finding entered this monitor, not when the study was published or clinically reviewed. Personal health and treatment decisions belong in a conversation with a qualified clinician.