REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, TANGERANG -- Internal medicine specialist and consultant for allergy and immunology at the Siloam Lippo Village Tangerang Hospital, Steven Sumantri, stated that autoimmune diseases have increased after the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The number of cases of autoimmune diseases throughout the world, including in Indonesia, has increased dramatically, especially after the pandemic, and often this is not realized, so detection is slow," he stated here on Thursday.

Autoimmune diseases are also on the rise, but since most people are unaware of this, the disease is included in the silent pandemic category. Furthermore, he remarked that autoimmune diseases can develop in anyone, regardless of age or gender, although they are more commonly found in women of reproductive age.

Autoimmune diseases, such as lupus syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, psoriasis, myasthenia gravis, Hashimoto's thyroiditis, and multiple sclerosis, are a complex group of ailments.