Early on in the pandemic, it was evident that hospitalized patients were developing various autoantibodies and not much was known at that stage as to whether or not it would portend the development of autoimmune disease or if it was just post-infectious sequelae that would resolve over time. The following retrospective analysis seems to be pointing to a correlation between Covid 19 and the development of new-onset autoimmunity or additional forms in those with pre-existent autoimmunity. Hopefully more study with shed more definitive light on this.
COVID-19 linked to 40% increase in autoimmune disease risk in huge study
COVID-19 may substantially increase the risk of developing autoimmune disease, a huge study of health records found.
Among those with existing autoimmunity, those who caught COVID-19 had a 23% higher chance of developing an additional autoimmune disease in the follow-up period.
COVID-19 was most strongly linked to an increased risk of vasculitis, which causes inflammation of the blood vessels; the previously infected group had a 63% higher rate of a type of vasculitis called arteritis temporalis than the uninfected group did. Autoimmune-driven problems with the thyroid, a butterfly-shaped organ in the throat that releases hormones, and the skin condition psoriasis were also strongly linked to prior COVID-19 infection, as was rheumatoid arthritis, which causes swelling in the joints.