One of the most common symptoms experienced by autoimmune disease patients is fatigue, which is reported by many as the "most debilitating symptom." A survey conducted in 2015 found that almost 98% of autoimmune disease patients suffered from fatigue, with 89% reporting it to be a "major issue" in their lives (similar to our own survey results).
Yet, fatigue is often not addressed by physicians because it is not always visible and is not something that physicians can "measure or test for." Effective treatments for fatigue are also limited or nonexistent due to a lack of understanding of the underlying mechanisms behind fatigue.
One study explored a number of factors that may contribute to fatigue in autoimmune disease patients. One of the sources of inflammation comes from cytokines, which are small protein molecules that influence immune responses. Cytokines also regulate normal physiological functions, including mood, cognition, and sleep. In autoimmune disease patients, the dysregulation of cytokines disrupts these physiological functions and likely contributes to fatigue.
Another source of fatigue comes from the brain and nervous system. The release of stress hormones from the hypothalamus and pituitary glands is associated with autoimmune diseases and contributes brain inflammation which can induce symptoms of fatigue. Neurotransmitters, which play an important role in producing arousal, wakefulness, and motivation, can also be affected by inflammatory molecules, leading to the experience of fatigue.
While fatigue is one of the first signs of autoimmune diseases, it is often ignored during the diagnostic phase, leading to delays in diagnosis. Moreover, treatment for fatigue remains limited. There are a number of new treatments being tested today for their effectiveness against symptoms like fatigue, but without patient participation, they may never reach the market. To be contacted for relevant clinical trials, please join our registry. Donations are also greatly appreciated! To share your experience with clinical trials, please contact us.
Below is a list of the autoimmune diseases in our registry that record fatigue as a symptom:
Celiac disease
Graves' disease
Crohn's disease
Autoimmune thyroiditis
Pernicious anemia
Ulcerative colitis
Rheumatoid arthritis
Ankylosing spondylitis
Diabetes mellitus type 1
Multiple sclerosis
Polymyalgia rheumatica
Sjogren's syndrome
Reactive arthritis
Psoriatic arthritis
Giant cell arteritis
Systemic lupus erythematosus
Primary idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy
Primary biliary cholangitis
Post-myocardial infarction syndrome
Evans syndrome
Warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia
Autoimmune hepatitis
Granulomatosis with polyangiitis
Felty syndrome
Juvenile arthritis
Lupus vasculitis
Polymyositis
Rheumatic fever
Primary sclerosing cholangitis
Anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis
Autoimmune pancreatitis
Autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura
Addison's disease
Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy
Cryptogenic organizing pneumonia
Autoimmune neutropenia
Takayasu arteritis
Morphea
Relapsing polychondritis
Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome
Aplastic anemia
Polyarteritis nodosa
Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria
Anti-glomerular basement membrane nephritis
Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis
Cogan syndrome
Pure red cell aplasia
Undifferentiated connective tissue disease
