(Sherri Gordon/ Health) More than 50% of people with an autoimmune disease also suffer from depression and anxiety, a new study finds.1
The new research, published in Rheumatology, found that while more than 50% of all people with autoimmune disorders experience depression and anxiety, many are never screened for the health conditions.
On top of that, more than half of those living with an autoimmune disease had rarely—or never—reported their mental health symptoms to a healthcare provider.
Nearly 1 in 10 people worldwide—13% of women and 7% of men—have an autoimmune disease.
Considering this number, and the correlation between mental health and autoimmune diseases, a growing number of people are suffering in silence.
“The range and prevalence of these neurological and psychiatric symptoms were higher than previously found and much higher than clinicians expected,” Melanie Sloan, PhD, the lead researcher on the study and a research associate in the Department of Public Health and Primary Care, University of Cambridge, told Health. (…)