HOW DOES LUPUS AFFECT WOMEN?
Lupus is most common in women ages
15 to 44, or during the years they can have
children. Having lupus raises your risk
of other health problems. Lupus can also
make these problems happen earlier in life
compared to women who do not have lupus.
These health problems include:
• Heart disease. Lupus raises the risk of
the most common type of heart disease,
called coronary artery disease (CAD).
This is partly because people with lupus
have more CAD risk factors, which
include high blood pressure, high
cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes. Lupus
causes inflammation (swelling), which
also increases the risk for CAD. Women
with lupus may be less ¬¬active because
of fatigue, joint problems, and muscle
pain, and this also puts them at risk for
heart disease. In one study, women with
lupus were 50 times more likely to have
chest pain or a heart attack than other
women of the same age.⁴
• Osteoporosis. Medicines that treat
lupus may cause bone loss. Bone loss
can lead to osteoporosis, a condition
that causes weak and broken bones.
Also, pain and fatigue can keep women
with lupus from getting physical
activity. Staying active can help prevent
bone loss.
• Kidney disease. More than half of all
people with lupus have kidney prob-
lems, called lupus nephritis.⁵ Kidney
problems often begin within the first
five years after lupus symptoms start to
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appear. This is one of the more serious
complications of lupus. Also, kidney
inflammation is not usually painful so
you don’t know when it’s happening.
That is why it’s important for people
with lupus to get regular urine and
blood tests for kidney disease. Treat-
ment for lupus nephritis works best if
caught early.
HOW DOES LUPUS AFFECT WOMEN OF
COLOR?
African-American women are three
times more likely to get lupus than white
women.⁶ Lupus is also more common in
Hispanic, Asian, and Native American and
Alaskan Native women.⁷
African-American and Hispanic women
usually get lupus at a younger age and have
more severe symptoms, including kidney
problems, than women of other groups.
African-Americans with lupus also have
more problems with seizures, strokes, and
dangerous swelling of the heart. Hispanic
women with lupus also have more heart
problems than women of other groups.
Researchers think that genes play a role in
how lupus affects minority women.
WHAT CAUSES LUPUS?
Researchers are still studying possible
causes of lupus. We do know that lupus is
not a disease you can catch from someone
else. Genes play an important role but
are not the only reason a person will get
lupus. Even someone with one or more of
the genes associated with lupus has only a