What is (are) Autoimmune Hepatitis ?
Autoimmune hepatitis is classified into several types. Type 1 autoimmune hepatitis is the most common form in North America. Type 1 can occur at any age; however, it most often starts in adolescence or young adulthood. About 70 percent of people with type 1 autoimmune hepatitis are female.1
                
People with type 1 autoimmune hepatitis commonly have other autoimmune disorders, such as
                
- celiac disease, an autoimmune disease in which people cannot tolerate gluten because it damages the lining of their small intestine and prevents absorption of nutrients  - Crohn's disease, which causes inflammation and irritation of any part of the digestive tract  - Graves' disease, the most common cause of hyperthyroidism in the United States  - Hashimoto's disease, also called chronic lymphocytic thyroiditis or autoimmune thyroiditis, a form of chronic inflammation of the thyroid gland  - proliferative glomerulonephritis, or inflammation of the glomeruli, which are tiny clusters of looping blood vessels in the kidneys  - primary sclerosing cholangitis, which causes irritation, scarring, and narrowing of the bile ducts inside and outside the liver  - rheumatoid arthritis, which causes pain, swelling, stiffness, and loss of function in the joints  - Sjgren's syndrome, which causes dryness in the mouth and eyes  - systemic lupus erythematosus, which causes kidney inflammation called lupus nephritis  - type 1 diabetes, a condition characterized by high blood glucose, also called blood sugar, levels caused by a total lack of insulin  - ulcerative colitis, a chronic disease that causes inflammation and sores, called ulcers, in the inner lining of the large intestine
                
Type 2 autoimmune hepatitis is less common and occurs more often in children than adults.1 People with type 2 can also have any of the above autoimmune disorders.