A multinational registry has documented diagnostic details related to autoimmune diseases, such as systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis, autoimmune myositis, mixed connective tissue disease, psoriasis, and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (ANCA)-associated vasculitis among individuals with silicosis.
Autoimmune diseases affect approximately 1/10 individuals, and their burden continues to increase over time at varying rates across individual diseases .
In order to prevent autoimmune diseases induced by silica exposure, it is crucial to minimize or eliminate this exposure altogether. In a comprehensive review addressing the prevention of rheumatoid arthritis, 11 strategies are discussed to reduce the disease risk.
Among these strategies, one noteworthy recommendation is the avoidance of silica exposure. It is noted that 40% of rheumatoid arthritis cases are attributable to exposure to potentially modifiable factors .
Silica-exposed current smokers were observed to have a more than sevenfold increase in the risk of antibodies to citrullinated peptides (ACPA)-positive RA, exceeding the risk expected from the separate effects of silica exposure and smoking, suggesting that an interaction between these exposures contributes to development of ACPA-positive RA
Early detection of silicosis and autoimmune diseases should prioritize mitigating the risk of silica exposure, which serves as the initial trigger for the immunological cascade. This cascade first leads to silicosis and subsequently increases the susceptibility to autoimmune diseases