Take a minute to read it can save your life..... African American Women Develop Lupus at Younger Age With More Life-Threatening Complications OCT. 24, 2013 Black Women Develop Lupus at Younger Age with More Life-Threatening Complications There are substantial racial disparities in the burden of lupus, according to initial data from the largest and most far-reaching epidemiology study ever conducted on the disease lupus and published online today by the journal, Arthritis and Rheumatism and in print in a 2014 issue of the journal. New data from two registries, part of the National Lupus Patient Registry (NLPR), also reveal that black females disproportionately are burdened by lupus, a devastating and complicated autoimmune disease. An extensive review of records from hospitals, specialists’ offices and clinical laboratories within Georgia and Michigan showed blacks had an increased proportion of lupus-related renal (kidney) disease and progression to end-stage renal disease than whites, and that black females developed lupus at a younger age than white females. “Black women had very high rates of lupus, with an incidence rate in Georgia nearly three times higher than that for white women, with significantly high rates in the 30-39 age group,” said Georgia principal investigator, S. Sam Lim, MD, MPH, Emory University, Department of Medicine, Division of Rheumatology, Atlanta, Georgia. “These are young women in the prime of their careers, family and fertility. This means a severely compromised future, with a disease that waxes and wanes, affecting every aspect of daily living for the rest of their lives.” About Lupus Lupus is an unpredictable and misunderstood autoimmune disease that ravages different parts of the body. It is difficult to diagnose, hard to live with and a challenge to treat. Lupus is a cruel mystery because it is hidden from view and undefined, has a range of symptoms, strikes without warning, and has no known cause and no known cure. Its health effects can range from a skin rash to a heart attack. Lupus is debilitating and destructive and can be fatal, yet research on lupus has not kept pace with research for other diseases of similar scope and devastation.
Posted on: Wed, 06 Nov 2013 00:32:11 +0000
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