Autoimmune Diseases: A Serious Health Concern For All 20-Somethings

Type One Diabetes

Type one diabetes is an autoimmune disease that attacks the cells in the pancreas that make insulin, leaving them unable to metabolize glucose properly. People with type one diabetes require lifelong injections of insulin and blood testing to ensure they receive the proper amount. Although the disease usually occurs during childhood, there has been a fivefold increase in the past forty years with a twenty-three percent spike in the last decade alone, leaving four hundred & fifty thousand young people affected.

Psoriasis

Psoriasis is an autoimmune response that targets the skin. There are seven different types of psoriasis with the most common being plaque psoriasis or psoriasis Vulgaris, which affects eight in ten people with the condition. It is characterized by inflamed, raised and itchy red skin patches covered by white scales. Although it can occur anywhere on the body, it is most commonly found on elbows, knees, the lower back and scalp. Psoriasis tends to peak in the late teenage years to the early thirties.