Who is at risk for SLE? SLE can affect people of all ages, including children. However, women of childbearing ages—15 to 44 years—are at greatest risk of developing SLE. Women of all ages are affected far more than men (estimates range from 4 to 12 women for every 1 man).
Gender: Even though anyone can get lupus, it most often affects women. They're nine to ten times more likely than men to develop it. Age: Lupus can occur at any age, but most are diagnosed in their 20s and 30s. Race: Lupus is two to three times more common in African-American women than in Caucasian women.
Anyone can get lupus; however, women get the disease about nine times more often than men. Most often it happens in people between ages 15 and 45 years, but lupus can occur in childhood or later in life as well.
Age. Although lupus affects people of all ages, it's most often diagnosed between the ages of 15 and 45. Race. Lupus is more common in African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans.
Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE), also known as lupus, is a disease of the immune system, which is estimated to affect more than 20,000 people in Australia and New Zealand.
Lupus symptoms can also be unclear, can come and go, and can change. On average, it takes nearly six years for people with lupus to be diagnosed, from the time they first notice their lupus symptoms. A majority (63%) of people with lupus surveyed report being incorrectly diagnosed.
Kidneys About one half of people with lupus experience kidney involvement, and the kidney has become the most extensively studied organ affected by lupus.
With close follow-up and treatment, 80-90% of people with lupus can expect to live a normal life span. It is true that medical science has not yet developed a method for curing lupus, and some people do die from the disease. However, for the majority of people living with the disease today, it will not be fatal.
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and Sjögren's syndrome (SS) may coexist, and they are chronic complex disorders, with an autoimmune background, multifactorial etiology, multiple circulating autoantibodies, and variable prognosis.
The symptoms may also appear suddenly or gradually. Many people with lupus do not receive a diagnosis straight away because it can mimic other conditions, including fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and various others that affect the same organ systems.
For some people, living with and managing lupus can cause weight gain. Weight gain may also lead to worsening lupus symptoms and complications associated with obesity. Some potential causes of weight gain that relate to lupus may include: being a side effect of medications such as corticosteroids.
Lupus is a chronic inflammatory autoimmune disease with a wide range of clinical presentations resulting from its effect on multiple organ systems. There are four main types of lupus: neonatal, discoid, drug-induced, and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), the type that affects the majority of patients.
Muscle and joint pain.
You may experience pain and stiffness, with or without swelling. This affects most people with lupus. Common areas for muscle pain and swelling include the neck, thighs, shoulders, and upper arms.
Since antigens play a major role in how lupus works, studies checked if the blood groups with antigens (A, B, and AB) are a risk factor. One study⁸ demonstrated that people with B+ blood type might have a higher risk of developing lupus.
The seriousness of SLE can range from mild to life-threatening. The disease should be treated by a doctor or a team of doctors who specialize in care of SLE patients. People with lupus that get proper medical care, preventive care, and education can significantly improve function and quality of life.
Most people with lupus who are old enough to drink alcohol can do so in moderation. Be aware, however, that alcohol can change the way the body uses or metabolizes certain medications, rushing them into the bloodstream. This can intensify both the good and not-so-good effects of medications.
Lupus is not a hereditary condition.
If you have a flare of your lupus symptoms, you may need to reduce or stop your exercise activity to prevent damage to inflamed joints and muscles and to avoid fatigue. Although exercise can help to reduce feelings of fatigue, too much exercise could trigger a lupus flare-up.
Lupus can rarely cause vasculitis (inflammation of the blood vessels) in the intestines, sometimes called lupus enteritis. Symptoms include: Abdominal pain (pain in the belly area) Feeling very full or bloated.
Lupus often causes skin rashes, arthritis, mouth sores, sun sensitivity, hair loss, or kidney problems, but these symptoms don't show up in MS. Even when lupus affects your nervous system, its most common symptoms are migraine, personality changes, seizures, or stroke, but these aren't typical for MS.
Lupus can be hard to diagnose because it has many symptoms that are often mistaken for symptoms of other diseases. Many people have lupus for a while before they find out they have it. If you have symptoms of lupus, tell your doctor right away. No single test can tell if a person has lupus.
Lupus nephritis tends to develop within 5 years of the appearance of initial lupus symptoms. The condition affects about 40% of people who have SLE and can lead to end-stage kidney disease (ESKD) in 22% of patients over a period of 15 years.