Regular physical activity was associated with a 31% lower risk of autoimmune bullous skin diseases compared to physical inactivity, with associations persisting after adjustment for genetic susceptibility and other risk factors.
Physically active participants had a 31% lower risk of autoimmune bullous skin diseases (AIBD) compared to inactive participants.
Physical activity was associated with lower risk of both pemphigus and pemphigoid individually.
Individuals with high genetic risk who were physically inactive had a substantially higher risk of AIBD than physically active individuals with low genetic risk.
BMI was identified as a partial mediator of the association between physical activity and AIBD risk.
The study examined the association between physical activity and AIBD in a large prospective cohort with long-term follow-up.
This research suggests that people who are regularly physically active have a meaningfully lower chance of developing autoimmune bullous skin diseases (AIBD) — a group of rare conditions including pemphigus and pemphigoid, where the immune system attacks the skin, causing painful blisters. Using data from nearly half a million participants in the UK Biobank followed for an average of over 15 years, the researchers found that physically active individuals were about 31% less likely to develop these diseases compared to inactive individuals, and this held true even when accounting for genetics and other known risk factors. The study also found that people who were both genetically predisposed to AIBD and physically inactive faced more than double the risk compared to those who were physically active and had low genetic risk. This suggests that regular exercise may help counteract some of the risk conferred by genetic factors. A small portion of the protective effect of exercise (about 9%) appeared to work through its impact on body weight (BMI), though most of the association was explained by other pathways, potentially including exercise's broader effects on immune regulation. This research suggests that maintaining regular physical activity could be an important lifestyle factor in reducing the risk of these rare but serious autoimmune skin conditions. Since AIBD has not been well-studied in relation to physical activity before, these findings open the door for further investigation into how exercise influences immune-mediated skin diseases and whether promoting physical activity could be incorporated into broader prevention strategies.
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Upload Your LabsJu S, Zhou G, Liu C, Li F, Hong Q, Liu W, et al.. (2026). Physical Activity and Risk of Autoimmune Bullous Skin Diseases: A Prospective Cohort Study.. Acta dermato-venereologica. https://doi.org/10.2340/actadv.v106.adv-2026-0705