What qualifies as multiple autoimmune syndrome?

Individuals diagnosed with an autoimmune disease may have heard of “multiple autoimmune syndrome.” Multiple autoimmune syndrome (MAS) is defined as a patient having at least three autoimmune diseases.

Many people wonder if naming specific combinations of diseases is counterproductive since not everyone with multiple autoimmune diseases falls neatly within these MAS types. Being diagnosed with an “overlapping” disease name can sometimes complicate further diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Regarding treatment, overlap syndromes rarely have a distinct treatment beyond what is already used for its component diseases.

Based on the experience of one of our registrants, they stated that "the only benefit of having a MAS label is to succinctly distinguish myself from those who only have one autoimmune disease since my life got more complicated once I was diagnosed with 3 diseases." However, they also emphasized that this label has caused additional confusion.

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