Autoimmune Disease Awareness Ribbons

Autoimmune disease awareness ribbons call attention to the more than eighty autoimmune diseases known at the present time. Because diagnosis is often difficult, being aware of signs and symptoms is key to effective treatment. Therefore, our comprehensive list gives insight into the many forms autoimmune diseases take.

An explanation of autoimmune diseases: A healthy immune system defends the body against disease and infection. When the immune system malfunctions, it attacks healthy cells, tissues, and organs. Called autoimmune disease, these attacks affect any part of the body, weakening bodily function and even becoming life-threatening. Autoimmune diseases can occur at any time throughout a person’s life, ranging from childhood to later years.

Scientists recognize more than eighty autoimmune diseases. Well known autoimmune diseases are Type 1 Diabetes, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), Lupus, and Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). Other autoimmune diseases are less common. Many conditions are rare and difficult to diagnose. Patients, therefore, may suffer for many years before getting a proper diagnosis. This is more common with unusual autoimmune diseases because many autoimmune diseases mimic other illnesses.

Key Patterns

• Blue appears frequently across arthritis, thyroid, diabetes, and neurologic autoimmune conditions

• Green is commonly connected to celiac disease, liver conditions, and some neuromuscular conditions

• Many autoimmune conditions overlap with chronic illness, invisible illness, spoonie, arthritis, and rare disease categories

• Orange is strongly associated with multiple sclerosis and juvenile arthritis

• Purple is widely used for lupus, chronic illness, rare autoimmune conditions, and overlap disorders

• Red is often used for blood, vascular, and vasculitis-related autoimmune diseases

• Teal and purple are commonly used as umbrella colors for autoimmune awareness

Important Note

• Color meaning is best interpreted alongside the condition name and awareness context
• Colors may vary by organization, campaign, country, or awareness product
• Some conditions have multiple accepted colors
• There is no universal standard for autoimmune awareness colors

Blood, Vascular, and Clotting Autoimmune Conditions

• Antiphospholipid syndrome — Purple or teal
• Autoimmune hemolytic anemia — Red
• Autoimmune neutropenia — Red
• Cold agglutinin disease — Red
• Evans syndrome — Red or purple
• Goodpasture syndrome — Blue
• Immune thrombocytopenia — Purple
• Pernicious anemia — Red
• Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura — Red

Endocrine and Hormonal Autoimmune Conditions

• Addison’s disease — Bronze or brown
• Autoimmune diabetes — Blue
• Graves’ disease — Light blue
• Hashimoto’s thyroiditis — Blue or purple
• LADA diabetes — Blue
• Premature ovarian insufficiency — Teal
• Type 1 diabetes — Blue

Eye, Ear, and Sensory Autoimmune Conditions

• Autoimmune inner ear disease — Blue
• Autoimmune retinopathy — Purple
• Graves’ eye disease — Light blue
• Optic neuritis — Orange or purple
• Scleritis — Teal
• Uveitis — Purple

Gastrointestinal and Liver Autoimmune Conditions

• Autoimmune hepatitis — Purple
• Celiac disease — Green
• Crohn’s disease — Purple
• Eosinophilic esophagitis — Purple
• Inflammatory bowel disease — Purple
• Microscopic colitis — Blue or purple
• Primary biliary cholangitis — Green
• Primary sclerosing cholangitis — Teal
• Ulcerative colitis — Purple

Kidney and Urinary Autoimmune Conditions

• Anti-GBM disease — Blue
• Autoimmune glomerulonephritis — Blue or red
• IgA nephropathy — Red or purple
• Lupus nephritis — Purple
• Membranous nephropathy — Blue
• Rapidly progressive glomerulonephritis — Red

Lung and Respiratory Autoimmune Conditions

• Autoimmune interstitial lung disease — Blue
• Churg-Strauss syndrome — Red
• Eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis — Red
• Granulomatosis with polyangiitis lung involvement — Red
• Pulmonary vasculitis — Red
• Sarcoidosis lung involvement — Purple

Muscle, Nerve, and Connective Tissue Conditions

• Inclusion body myositis — Purple
• Juvenile dermatomyositis — Purple
• Myositis — Purple
• Necrotizing autoimmune myopathy — Purple
• Polymyositis — Purple
• Raynaud’s phenomenon, autoimmune-related — Teal or blue
• Scleroderma — Teal

Neurological Autoimmune Conditions

• Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis — Orange or purple
• Autoimmune autonomic ganglionopathy — Teal or blue
• Autoimmune encephalitis — Purple
• Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy — Blue or purple
• Guillain-Barré syndrome — Teal or blue
• Lambert-Eaton myasthenic syndrome — Green or purple
• MOG antibody disease — Purple
• Multiple sclerosis — Orange
• Myasthenia gravis — Green
• Neuromyelitis optica — Purple
• Stiff person syndrome — Blue
• Transverse myelitis — Orange or purple

Rare, Overlap, and Autoinflammatory Conditions

• Adult-onset Still’s disease — Orange
• Autoinflammatory syndromes — Purple
• CAPS — Blue or purple
• Familial Mediterranean fever — Purple
• Hyper-IgD syndrome — Blue or purple
• IgG4-related disease — Blue or purple
• PFAPA syndrome — Purple
• Systemic autoinflammatory disease — Purple
• TRAPS — Purple

Rheumatologic and Arthritis-Related Autoimmune Conditions

• Ankylosing spondylitis — Light blue
• Antisynthetase syndrome — Purple
• Autoimmune arthritis — Blue
• Behçet’s disease — Blue
• Enthesitis-related arthritis — Orange or blue
• Giant cell arteritis — Red
• Granulomatosis with polyangiitis — Red
• Juvenile idiopathic arthritis — Orange
• Mixed connective tissue disease — Purple and blue
• Palindromic rheumatism — Blue or purple
• Polymyalgia rheumatica — Red
• Polyarteritis nodosa — Red
• Psoriatic arthritis — Teal
• Reactive arthritis — Teal or blue
• Relapsing polychondritis — Blue
• Rheumatoid arthritis — Blue or dark blue
• Sarcoidosis — Purple
• Sjögren’s syndrome — Blue or green
• Spondyloarthritis — Light blue
• Systemic lupus erythematosus — Purple
• Systemic sclerosis — Teal
• Takayasu arteritis — Red
• Vasculitis — Red

Skin and Dermatologic Autoimmune Conditions

• Alopecia areata — Blue
• Autoimmune blistering diseases — Purple
• Bullous pemphigoid — Blue
• Dermatitis herpetiformis — Green
• Dermatomyositis — Purple
• Discoid lupus — Purple
• Hidradenitis suppurativa — Purple
• Lichen planus — Purple
• Morphea — Teal
• Pemphigus foliaceus — Purple
• Pemphigus vulgaris — Purple
• Psoriasis — Blue
• Vitiligo — Purple

Additional Autoimmune and Immune-Mediated Conditions

• Autoimmune pancreatitis — Purple
• Autoimmune urticaria — Purple
• Chronic spontaneous urticaria — Purple
• Endometriosis, immune-associated — Yellow or teal
• Lichen sclerosus — Purple
• Mast cell activation syndrome, immune-associated — Purple
• PANDAS/PANS — Purple or green
• Recurrent miscarriage, autoimmune-associated — Pink and blue
• Undifferentiated autoimmune disease — Teal and purple