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Eliminate Disparities in Lupus
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What is the Burden of Lupus in the United States? |
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Lupus affects up to 1.4 million people in the United States. About
nine out of 10 people who have lupus are women.1 Approximately one
third of deaths occur among men and women younger than 45. During
1979-1998, the annual number of deaths from lupus rose from 879 to
1,406 and the crude death rate increased from 39 to 52 per million
population, with a total of 22,861 deaths reported during this 20-year
period.2 Due to the lack of definitive
epidemiological information on lupus, the exact number of people with
lupus is unknown. Based on limited existing data, researchers believe
at least five million people worldwide have lupus and more than
100,000 new cases develop every year, though it is likely that these
estimates are low.3 |
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Striking mostly young women of childbearing age, lupus causes the
immune system to attack its own body cells. Lupus can cause severe
joint and muscle pain, extreme exhaustion, fevers, skin rashes, and
can lead to organ failure and death.4 There are
several forms of lupus: |
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Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
is the most common type of lupus. SLE can affect many parts of the
body including joints, skin, kidneys, lungs, heart, blood vessels,
nervous system, blood, and brain. |
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Discoid lupus erythematosus (DLE)
just affects the skin. It does not affect other organs, like SLE. |
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Drug-induced lupus
is a reaction to some prescription medicines.
The symptoms of this type of lupus are similar to SLE, except
you don't have problems with your kidneys or central nervous system. |
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The cause of lupus is not known. It is likely that there is no single
cause but a combination of genetic, environmental, and possibly
hormonal factors that work together to cause the disease.6 |
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Examples of Important Disparities |
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Lupus is three times more common in black women than in white women.
It is also more common in women of Hispanic/Latina, Asian, and
American Indian descent. Black and Hispanic/Latina women tend to
develop symptoms at an earlier age than other women. African Americans
have more severe organ problems, especially with their
kidneys.7 Between 1979 and 1998, death rates from SLE increased nearly
70% among black women between the ages of 45 and 64 years. Possible
reasons include an increasing incidence of SLE, later diagnosis, less
access to health care, less-effective treatments, and poorer
compliance with treatment recommendations. Each year during the study
period, death rates were more than five times higher for women than
for men and more than three times higher for blacks than for whites.8 |
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Promising Strategies |
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Keys to preventing future deaths from SLE will require earlier
recognition and diagnosis, appropriate therapeutic management,
compliance with recommended treatment, and improved treatment of
long-term consequences, such as accelerated hardening of the arteries
(atherosclerosis).9 CDC, working with state health departments, is
developing plans for state-based registry of people with SLE to
monitor trends and better characterize people who have the disease.10 |
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What You Can Do |
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There is no known cure for lupus, but there are effective treatments.11
Early diagnosis and the commencement of treatment are vital to
reducing the physical and economic impact of lupus.12
In developing a treatment plan, the doctor has several goals:
to prevent flares, to treat them when they do occur, and to minimize
complications. The doctor and patient should reevaluate the plan
regularly to ensure that it is as effective as possible. Working
closely with the doctor helps ensure that treatments for lupus are as
successful as possible. Because some treatments may cause harmful side
effects, it is important to promptly report any new symptoms to the
doctor. It is also important not to stop or change treatments without
talking to the doctor first.13 |
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Sources
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1
National Women's Health
Information Center (NWHIC), 2003 |
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2
CDC
Office of Communication (OC), 2002 |
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3
Lupus Foundation of America, 2001 |
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4
HHS Office of Minoirty Health Resource Center (OMHRC), 2001 |
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5
NWHIC, 2003 |
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6
NWHIC, 2003 |
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7
NWHIC, 2003 |
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8
OC, 2002 |
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9
OC, 2002 |
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10
OC, 2002 |
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11
NWHIC, 2003 |
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12
OMHRC, 2001 |
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13
Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC): Treating Lupus |
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