Nick Cannon has autoimmune disease

Nick Cannon's recent health woes have been blamed on an autoimmune disease.

The America's Got Talent presenter has opened up about the condition, which came to light after he was hospitalised with acute kidney failure on a post-Christmas (11) vacation.

He tells People.com the kidney disease was the result of an "autoimmune disease that (doctors) found in my system," adding, "They kind of say (my) autoimmune (disease) is - like a lupus type of thing, but no one else in my family has it."

But Cannon admits his biggest scare came last month (Feb12) when doctors found blood clots in his lungs, which they have since told him were caused by a kidney infection.

He explains, "The blood clot thing was probably the scariest because... I've known people who have passed away from that. I thought I was getting better and then that happened, so that kind of came out of nowhere."

The actor/rapper has also been warned the kidney condition is "something I'm going to be living with all my life," but he's concentrating on recovering by sleeping more and enjoying family life with wife Mariah Carey.

He says, "I'm just trying to make sure I put my health first... I feel blessed to be alive. If it wasn't discovered, I don't know (what would have happened)."