Table 1.
Environmental exposures and human autoimmune diseases.
| Environmental Agent+ | Autoimmune Disease | Sex bias | Exposure |
|---|---|---|---|
| Confident | |||
| Crystalline silica | RA#, SSc, SLE, ANCA | SLE, none SSc, male RA, none |
Occupational |
| Solvents | SSc | Male | Occupational Lifestyle |
| Smoking | Seropositive RA | Increased risk higher in males | |
| Likely | |||
| Solvents | MS | Increased risk for male and female dependent on sex biased occupation (insufficient data) | Occupational |
| Smoking | SLE, MS, Crohn’s disease, Hashimoto
thyroiditis, Grave’s disease Ulcerative colitis* |
Lifestyle | |
| Unlikely | |||
| Hair dyes | SLE | - | Lifestyle |
+
Does not include biological (virus, bacteria), dietary (food, supplements)
*
Protective
#
Abbreviations: RA, rheumatoid arthritis; SSc, systemic sclerosis; SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus; ANCA, anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody; MS, multiple sclerosis.