Associated diseases

84% of patients with primary biliary cirrhosis have at least one other autoimmune disease.

These include:

• autoimmune thyroiditis
• Sjogren's syndrome
• CREST syndrome
• scleroderma
• rheumatoid arthritis
• fibrosing alveolitis

Rarer associations include:

• jejunal villous atrophy
• bullous pemphigoid
• capillaritis
• lichen planus
• IgM-associaed membranous glomerulonephritis
• renal tubular acidosis
• dermatomyositis
• polymyositis
• mixed connective tissue disease
• systemic lupus erythematosus
• Grave's disease
• ulcerative colitis
• autoimmune thrombocytopaenia
• breast cancer - there is a four fold increase in incidence in women with PBC

Note:

• natural history or clinical presentation of PBC is not modified by autoimmune comorbidities (1)

Reference:

• (1) Selmi C et al. Primary biliary cirrhosis. Lancet. 2011 May 7;377(9777):1600-9.