Published Sep 2016

Silica exposure has been associated with several autoimmune diseases, most notably scleroderma and rheumatoid arthritis. Crystalline silica is a well-known adjuvant which induces the transcription of pro-inflammatory cytokines, stimulates T cell responses and decreases number of regulatory T cells, increases oxidative stress, and induces apoptosis.

Particulate air pollution has been linked to the development of systemic autoimmune rheumatic diseases (SARD), a term which includes systemic lupus, Sjögren’s syndrome, scleroderma, polymyositis, dermatomyositis, or undifferentiated connective tissue disease in an urban Canadian cohort .

Significant epidemiologic literature exists to support the association between silica, cigarette smoking, oral contraceptives, postmenopausal hormone therapy, and endometriosis with increased risk of incident SLE. Recently, moderate alcohol consumption has been demonstrated to reduce incident SLE risk