Who gets lupus

Anyone can get lupus. About 9 out of 10 adults with lupus are women ages 15 to 45. African-American women are three times more likely to get lupus than white women. Lupus is also more common in Latina, Asian, and Native American women. Men are at a higher risk before puberty and after age 50. 

Despite an increase in lupus in men in these age groups, two-thirds of the people who have lupus before puberty and after age 50 are women.

Lupus affects young women most More than 90 percent of people with lupus are women between the ages of 15 and 45. African-American, Latina, Asian, and Native American women are at greater risk of getting lupus than white women.

African-Americans and Latinos tend to get lupus at a younger age and have more severe symptoms, including kidney problems. African-Americans with lupus also have more problems with seizures, strokes, and dangerous swelling of the heart muscle. Latina patients have heart problems as well. Scientists believe that genes play a role in how lupus affects these ethnic groups.

Apart from genetic factors, lupus can be more severe for people who aren't getting the care they need. studies have shown that people with lupus who have a lower household income, lower level of education, or less of a support system tend to do worse with the disease. For some people with lupus, severe symptoms of the disease leave them unable to work, which may result in low income and lack of health insurance. These factors make it hard for a person with lupus to get the right treatment or sometimes even diagnosis that they need.

SOURCE:

womenshealth.gov

Lupus

Lupus (LOO-puhss) is a chronic, autoimmune (aw-toh-ih-MYOON) disease. It can harm any part of the body (skin, joints, and/or organs inside the body). Chronic means that the signs and symptoms last longer than six weeks and often for many years. In lupus, something goes wrong with your immune system, which is the part of the body that fights off viruses, bacteria, and other germs (“foreign invaders,” like the flu). Normally your immune system makes proteins called antibodies that protect the body from these invaders. Autoimmune means your immune system cannot tell the difference between these invaders and your body's
healthy tissues (“auto” means “self”). In lupus, your immune system creates auto antibodies (AW-toh-AN-teyebah-deez), which sometimes attack and destroy healthy tissue. These auto antibodies add to inflammation, pain, and damage in parts of the body.

When people talk about “lupus,” they usually mean systemic lupus erythematosus (ur-uh-thee-muh-TOH-suhss), or SLE. This is the most common type of lupus. It is hard to guess how many people in the U.S. have lupus, because the symptoms are so different for every person. Sometimes it is not diagnosed. The Lupus Foundation of America thinks that about 16,000 new cases are reported across the country each year.

Although lupus can affect almost any organ system, the disease, for most people, affects only a few parts of the body. For example, one person with lupus may have swollen knees and fever. Another person may be tired all the time or have kidney trouble. Someone else may have rashes. Over time, more symptoms can develop.

Normally, lupus develops slowly, with symptoms that come and go. Women who get lupus most often have symptoms and are diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 45. But the disease also can happen in childhood or later in life.

For some people, lupus is a mild disease. But for others, it may cause severe problems. Even if your lupus symptoms are mild, it is a serious disease that needs constant monitoring and treatment. It can harm your organs and put your life at risk if untreated.

KINDS OF LUPUS

SOURCE

womenshealth.gov