I am noticing though subjective, a substantial number of autoimmune conditions in a Northeastern Nigerian location, hot quasi desert climate
An interesting question. It may be harder to correlated climate (environmental factors) with the prevalence of certain autoimmune diseases. It might be reasonable to correlate with manifestations of certain autoimmune diseases with climate through certain organ system(s) involvement (for example, skin).
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Changes in or extreme climates can often have an effect on disease conditions. In some cases, there are certain types of weather that can be helpful in controlling or improving a condition; other times, climate can impact disorders negatively in terms of symptoms and disease progression. Here we consider the effects of cold weather and temperatures on autoimmune disease.
The first thing to mention here is that autoimmune conditions come in all shapes and sizes, and as such are affected by many factors. Some conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis, are greatly impacted by the weather (especially cold and/or rainy), while others are minimally affected, if at all. In contrast, other disorders show an improvement in symptoms with cooler weather and may flare on warmer days. There is no hard and fast rule as to how weather will affect individual patients. Having said this, the short answer is we’re not entirely sure why autoimmune flares tend to worsen in cold weather, but we do know a few things regarding this phenomenon.
In general, weather extremes of any kind will place additional stress upon the body, which is usually not helpful for those suffering from a host of conditions, autoimmune and otherwise. Thus, generalized stress can increase the incidence and severity of autoimmune conditions in a non-specific way, simply by adding to the heightened physiological demands of the body during such periods. For instance, in very cold weather, bodily heat escapes quickly, leaving less energy and fewer resources available to deal with basic and enhanced requirements. Other conditions such as cold agglutinin disease, which is a variant of autoimmune hemolytic anemia, only occur during periods of lowered body temperature. This emotional and/or physical stress can leave an autoimmune sufferer more susceptible to flares, which might be better controlled in more temperate weather (though sometimes the opposite is true; it is a very individualized presentation).
More specifically, it seems that one likely cause of cold-induced pain in many cases is the fact that smaller blood vessels tend to spasm in low temperatures, which leads to a restriction of blood flow to the associated areas. This is known as Raynaud’s phenomenon when it is secondary to an established autoimmune disease (or Raynaud’s disease when it appears on its own) and it is something that many autoimmune patients know all too well, as it often occurs in conjunction with various autoimmune conditions. The spasms can cause extreme pain, swelling, numbness and discoloration, and they occur most prominently in the fingers, toes, ears and nose (because these are all areas with very small vessels and therefore less blood flow and adaptive ability). It is possible, though not certain, that similar problems in larger joints (and therefore vessels) are related in terms of pathology.
Another potential but controversial explanation for joint inflammation during certain types of weather involves the postulation that lower barometric pressure leads to increased swelling in the joint spaces.
Probable there is a reverse relationship between the climate and the onset of autoimmune diseases. They predominate in humid and cold climates generally speaking
The question is posted twice. My offers (about a pathogen metabolite rate challenge) are under "Can annual temperature range (difference between the highest and lowest temperature in a year) has effect on the prevalence of some autoimmune dx ?", the same enquiry, different vocabulary. Yakubu, are you reading there or here?
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