More and more people are developing autoimmune diseases, and the reason isn’t a sudden mutation or a hereditary predisposition that has mysteriously multiplied. According to the scientific article “Environment, Lifestyles, and Climate Change: The Many Nongenetic Contributors to The Long and Winding Road to Autoimmune Diseases,” published by Frederick W. Miller in Arthritis Care & Research Open Rheumatology, the real driving force behind this trend is our environment— not an abstract one, but the air we breathe, the food we eat, the stress we endure, the cities we inhabit, and the climate we are altering.
The study points out that the global rise in autoimmune diseases is far too rapid to be explained by genetic changes. This brings forward a key concept: the exposome. It is, essentially, the total sum of all exposures we accumulate throughout life— polluted air, household chemicals, microbes, diet, stress, lifestyle choices, radiation, work, climate. According to the author, autoimmunity rarely stems from a single trigger; instead, it emerges from the accumulation of many “micro-hits” that gradually destabilize the immune system.
Air pollution is one of these constant hits. Fine particles, traffic emissions, industrial solvents, and tobacco smoke generate chronic inflammation and force the immune system to remain on high alert. That perpetual activation creates the perfect conditions for the immune system to eventually make mistakes and start attacking the body itself.
The Western diet adds another silent push. Excessive consumption of ultra-processed foods, sugar, and saturated fats—combined with low fiber intake—disrupts the gut microbiota, a key regulator of immune function. When you add sedentary habits, long-term stress, and irregular sleep, the immune system enters a cycle of dysregulation that can pave the way for autoimmunity.
The research also highlights a less intuitive but increasingly evident factor: the impact of climate change. More frequent wildfires, droughts, dust storms, new vector-borne diseases, and extreme heat events alter both the environment and human immune responses. A more unstable planet means a more pressured, reactive, and error-prone immune system.
Can it be prevented? Not entirely. But risks can be reduced: cleaner air, fewer everyday toxic exposures, a diet based on real foods, regular physical activity, stress management, and stronger environmental policies. Because, as the scientific article emphasizes, our immune health is not merely an individual affair—it reflects the conditions in which we live.
Autoimmunity is rising. But its rise is telling us something: the way we’ve reshaped our environment is no longer affecting only the planet—it’s affecting how our immune system works. And if we want to slow this trend, we’ll need to take far better care of the world that keeps us alive.
Editor of Daily 27.
Predoctoral researcher at the Department of Sociology in University of Barcelona.