Causes of Interstitial Lung Diseases

Type

Examples

Autoimmune disorders

Autoimmune myositis/anti-synthetase syndrome, Goodpasture syndrome, mixed connective tissue disease, rheumatoid arthritis, systemic sclerosis, Sjögren syndrome, and systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus)

Organic dust

Bird droppings and molds

Drug-related

Amiodarone, bleomycin, busulfan, carbamazepine, checkpoint inhibitors, chlorambucil, cocaine, cyclophosphamide, gold, methotrexate, nitrofurantoin, sulfasalazine, and sulfonamides

Chemical-related

Aluminum powder, asbestos, beryllium, metals, sulfur dioxide, talc

Genetic disorders

Fabry disease, familial pulmonary fibrosis, Gaucher disease, Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome, neurofibromatosis, Niemann-Pick disease (rare), pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis, pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, and tuberous sclerosis

Idiopathic* interstitial pneumonias

Acute interstitial pneumonia, cryptogenic organizing pneumonia, desquamative interstitial pneumonia, idiopathic pleuroparenchymal fibroelastosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, lymphoid interstitial pneumonia, nonspecific interstitial pneumonia, and respiratory bronchiolitis-associated interstitial lung disease

Therapeutic or industrial radiation-related

Radiation therapy for cancer

Other disorders

Amyloidosis, chronic aspiration, eosinophilic pneumonia, lymphangioleiomyomatosis, pulmonary Langerhans cell histiocytosis, sarcoidosis, and vasculitic disorders (which cause inflammation of blood vessels) such as eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis, and granulomatosis with polyangiitis

* Idiopathic means with no known cause.