Health Dictionary
Reliable, easy-to-read patient information on common medical conditions — written in plain language, free of jargon, and grounded in current evidence. Browse the most frequent diagnoses, understand what they mean for everyday life, and learn which steps and questions help you have a focused conversation with your doctor.
Addison's disease causes
Introduction
Overview
Overview
Common causes of Addison’s disease include autoimmune, tuberculosis, AIDS, CMV, hemorrhage, infarction, sarcoidosis and infections.
Causes
Causes
Life-threatening Causes
Life-threatening causes of Addison’s disease include:
- AIDS complications
- Adrenal infarction
- Bilateral adrenal hemorrhage(caused by trauma, anticoagulant therapy, or coagulation disorders).[1]
- Cancerous destruction of the adrenal gland, secondary to infiltrative or metastatic disease.
- Tubercular and fungal destruction of adrenal glands.
Common Causes
Common causes of Addison’s disease include:[2]
Less common causes
Less common causes of Addison’s disease include:
- Sarcoidosis
- Amyloidosis
- Fungal infections
- AIDS complications
- Hemochromatosis
- Polyglandular autoimmune syndromes
- Adrenoleukodystrophy
- Adrenomyelodystrophy
- Congenital factors, including hypoplasia, familial glucocorticoid insufficiency, and enzyme defect
Causes by Organ System
| Cardiovascular | Arteritis, Hypotension, Hemorrhage, Infarction |
| Chemical / poisoning | No underlying causes |
| Dermatologic | No underlying causes |
| Drug Side Effect | Corticosteroid withdrawal, Pasireotide |
| Ear Nose Throat | No underlying causes |
| Endocrine | Adrenal aplasia / hypoplasia, Adrenal metastases, After surgery of cortisol-secreting tumor, Bilateral adrenalectomy , Congenital adrenal hyperplasia, Glucocorticoid deficiency 1 |
| Environmental | No underlying causes |
| Gastroenterologic | Hemochromatosis |
| Genetic | No underlying causes |
| Hematologic | Anticoagulation, Coagulopathy , Embolus, Leukemia, Lymphoma , Thrombosis |
| Iatrogenic | Iatrogenic, Radiation therapy |
| Infectious Disease | AIDS, Blastomycosis, CMV, Coccidiomycosis, Cryptococcosis, Histoplasmosis , Mycobacterium avium intracellulaire (MAI), Sepsis, Syphilis, Toxoplasmosis, Tuberculosis, Waterhouse-Friderichson syndrome |
| Musculoskeletal / Ortho | No underlying causes |
| Neurologic | Adrenoleukodystrophy, Coma |
| Nutritional / Metabolic | No underlying causes |
| Obstetric/Gynecologic | No underlying causes |
| Oncologic | Kaposi’s sarcoma, Leukemia, Lymphoma |
| Opthalmologic | No underlying causes |
| Overdose / Toxicity | No underlying causes |
| Psychiatric | No underlying causes |
| Pulmonary | Sarcoidosis, |
| Renal / Electrolyte | Uremia, Waterhouse-Friderichson syndrome |
| Rheum / Immune / Allergy | Autoimmune, Sarcoidosis |
| Sexual | No underlying causes |
| Trauma | Trauma |
| Urologic | No underlying causes |
| Dental | No underlying causes |
| Miscellaneous | Amyloidosis, Idiopathic, Iatrogenic, Radiation therapy, Surgery |
Causes in Alphabetical Order
- Adrenal aplasia / hypoplasia
- Adrenal metastases
- Adrenoleukodystrophy
- AIDS
- Amyloidosis
- Anticoagulation
- Arteritis
- After surgery of cortisol-secreting tumor
- Autoimmune/idiopathic
- Bilateral adrenalectomy
- Blastomycosis
- CMV
- Coagulopathy
- Coccidiomycosis
- Congenital adrenal hyperplasia
- Cryptococcosis
- Coma
- Corticosteroid withdrawal
- Drugs
- Embolus
- Glucocorticoid deficiency 1
- Hemochromatosis
- Histoplasmosis
- Hypotension
- Hemorrhage, infarction
- Iatrogenic
- Kaposi’s sarcoma
- Leukemia
- Lymphoma
- Mycobacterium avium intracellulaire (MAI)
- Neonatal
- Neoplasm
- Radiation therapy
- Sarcoidosis
- Sepsis
- Surgery
- Syphilis
- Thrombosis
- Toxoplasmosis
- Trauma
- Tuberculosis (20% of all Addison’s)
- Uremia
- Waterhouse-Friderichson syndrome
References
References
- ↑ LaBan MM, Whitmore CE, Taylor RS (2003). “Bilateral adrenal hemorrhage after anticoagulation prophylaxis for bilateral knee arthroplasty”. Am J Phys Med Rehabil. 82 (5): 418–20. doi:10.1097/01.PHM.0000064741.97586.E4. PMID 12704285.
- ↑ Sailer, Christian, Wasner, Susanne. Differential Diagnosis Pocket. Hermosa Beach, CA: Borm Bruckmeir Publishing LLC, 2002:14-15
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]Â ; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: Aditya Ganti M.B.B.S. [2]