Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is a poorly understood, potentially morbid disease, that seems to be rising in incidence.

AIH is an inflammatory disease of the liver that can rapidly progress to cirrhosis and death. Corticosteroids have been the mainstay of AIH therapy since its description in the 1950s.

AIH disproportionately affects women and people of color.

AIH has well known HLA associations and predominantly affects women. Furthermore, there have been several reports of AIH presentation and severity varying by race/ethnicity. Our group described a disproportionate burden of AIH among people of color in the underserved community of San Francisco. This health disparity was confirmed when we analyzed hospitalizations for AIH in a national database. Our study found that African Americans and Latino Americans were disproportionately hospitalized for AIH and that African Americans experienced a higher mortality rate during these admissions

The reason for racial/ethnic disparities in liver disease remains unknown.

African Americans and Latino Americans are disproportionately hospitalized for AIH and African Americans experience a higher mortality rate during these admissions. A critical need is a prospective cohort study of well-characterized, diverse liver disease patients with blood and liver biospecimens.