If you have hidradenitis suppurativa (HS), you may have heard people call it an autoimmune disease. But research from the past few years shows that’s not quite accurate. Experts now say HS is better understood as an autoinflammatory condition.

Autoimmune diseases happen when your body’s immune system attacks healthy tissue by mistake, usually involving specific antibodies. But with autoinflammatory conditions, your body’s built-in immune defenses overreact without any clear reason, causing inflammation, pain, and swelling.

A 2023 study looked at a part of the immune system called the AIM2 inflammasome and found that it plays a key role in triggering HS. This supports the idea that HS is caused by an overactive immune response, not by the body attacking itself like it does in autoimmune diseases.

In 2024, researchers placed HS in a group of conditions called autoinflammatory keratinization diseases. These involve skin inflammation and blocked hair follicles, not the kind of immune system behavior seen in classic autoimmune illnesses.

More recent research from 2025 focused on a specific immune protein called IL-17, which drives inflammation in HS. Treatments that block IL-17 are showing promise, which aligns with the idea that HS is rooted in inflammation, not autoimmunity.

That said, people with HS may be more likely to develop autoimmune conditions like lupus or rheumatoid arthritis. Learn more about common triggers and ways to manage stress.