全球自身免疫性疾病病例激增

陈小将

Autoimmune diseases range from type 1 diabetes to rheumatoid arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease and multiple sclerosis.
自身免疫性疾病包括1型糖尿病、类风湿性关节炎、炎性肠病和多发性硬化症。

In each case, the immune system gets its wires crossed and turns on healthy tissue instead of infectious agents.
上述每种疾病都会使免疫系统出现错乱，攻击自身健康组织而非病原体。

In the UK alone, at least 4 million people have developed such conditions, with some individuals suffering more than one.
仅在英国，就有至少400万人患上这类疾病，有些人出现不止一种病症。

Internationally, it is now estimated that cases of autoimmune diseases are rising by 3% to 9% a year.
据估计，目前全球自身免疫性疾病病例每年增长为3%至9%。

Most scientists believe environmental factors play a key role in this rise.
大多数科学家认为环境因素在其中发挥重要影响。

Fast-food diets lack certain important ingredients, such as fiber, and evidence suggests this alteration affects a person’s microbiome – the collection of micro-organisms that we have in our gut and which play a key role in controlling various bodily functions.
快餐饮食缺乏某些重要营养成分，如膳食纤维，有证据表明这种饮食改变会影响人体内的微生物群(肠道微生物群)，它们对调节身体各方面功能起着关键作用。

These changes in our microbiomes are then triggering autoimmune diseases, of which more than 100 types have now been discovered.
微生物群的这些变化便会引发自身免疫性疾病，目前已经发现了100多种该类型疾病。