Newswise — The American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) launched its first-ever national public service (PSA) campaign titled, "Know Your Family AQ," starring well-known actress and longtime AARDA spokesperson Kellie Martin.
Unveiled on the steps of the U.S. Capitol at a patient rally earlier this week during National Autoimmune Diseases Awareness Month, the multi-media PSA campaign consists of 30-second radio and television spots, as well as a video interview with Martin (visit www.aarda.org to view/listen to all campaign elements). It is designed to educate Americans about the existence of the close genetic relationship and common pathway of disease among autoimmune diseases, which helps explain the clustering of these diseases in individuals and throughout families.
"AQ is a play on IQ and stands for Autoimmune Quotient. How likely are you or a loved one to develop an autoimmune disease? Given the family connection, knowing the health histories of other family members could help answer that question," said Martin, who currently stars in The Hallmark Channel's Mystery Woman series. "For example, if your grandmother or father or sister or uncle has an autoimmune disease, you could be more susceptible to developing one yourself. Therefore documenting and sharing your family's medical history or AQ is key."
Martin explained her starring role in the campaign, "As a new mom and someone whose family has been touched by autoimmune disease, I want all Americans to understand why knowing their family AQ is so vitally important."
Martin's sister Heather passed away at the age of 19 from a misdiagnosed case of lupus in 1998.
"Unfortunately, the Martin family's experience is not uncommon since autoimmune diseases are often very difficult to diagnose," added Virginia Ladd, president and executive director, AARDA. "Symptoms can be sporadic and seemingly unconnected and the diseases can affect almost any part of the body with unpredictable patterns of flare-ups and remissions. Thus most autoimmune diseases are diagnosed by a combination of blood work, clinical findings and a careful history, not only of symptoms, but also of a detailed family medical history."
About Autoimmunity and National Autoimmune Diseases Awareness MonthThere are more than 80 known autoimmune diseases including multiple sclerosis, myasthenia gravis, scleroderma, polymyositis, vasculitis, lupus, idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), juvenile diabetes, Sjögren's disease, Crohn's disease and Graves' disease. Autoimmunity is the underlying cause of these diseases. It is the process whereby the immune system mistakenly recognizes the body's own proteins as foreign invaders and begins producing antibodies that attack healthy cells and tissues, causing a variety of diseases.
According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), there are 23.5 million Americans who suffer from autoimmune diseases and the prevalence of these diseases is rising. Collectively, autoimmune disease is one of the top 10 leading causes of death in children and women under 65 and represents some $100 billion in annual direct health care costs. Yet, fewer than six percent of Americans surveyed in a recent AARDA/Roper poll could identify an autoimmune disease.
To help raise Americans' awareness of these diseases, the Senate recently designated May as National Autoimmune Diseases Awareness Month.
About American Autoimmune Related Diseases AssociationAmerican Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA) is the nation's only non-profit organization dedicated to bringing a national focus to autoimmunity as a category of disease and a major women's health issue, and promoting a collaborative research effort in order to find better treatments and a cure for all autoimmune diseases. For more information, please visit http://www.aarda.org or call 586-776-3900 or 888-856-9433.
About Kellie MartinA seasoned television veteran at 31, Martin began pursuing an acting career at the tender age of seven. To date, Martin, who has been dubbed "One of Hollywood's 10 Best Loved Stars," has accrued an impressive list of credits and achievements. She is probably still most fondly remembered for her work as "Becca Thacher" in the popular ABC series Life Goes On for which she received an Emmy nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Martin later appeared as third-year medical student "Lucy Knight" on NBC-TV's smash hit ER and, today stars as "Samantha Kinsey" on The Hallmark Channel's Mystery Woman series.
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