How common is lupus?

Lupus affects different age groups at different rates. The majority of people with lupus develop the disease between ages 15 and 45. Women account for 85% of diagnosed lupus cases.

Heredity is a factor, meaning lupus sometimes runs in families. If a mother has lupus, her children have a slightly increased risk of developing the disease.

The number of people who have lupus varies widely among different countries and among different populations within countries. In the United States, lupus occurs most frequently among Asians in Hawaii, blacks, and Native Americans of Sioux, Arapahoe, and Crow origin. It is common in China and in blacks in the Caribbean, but unusual in blacks in Africa. Lupus is present in as many as 1 out of every 250 black women; it is present in 1 out of every 1,000 white women.

Citations

1. Lockshin MD (2005). Systemic lupus erythematosus. In DC Dale, DD Federman, eds., ACP Medicine, section 15, chap. 4. New York: WebMD.

2. Hellmann DB, Stone JH (2005). Systemic lupus erythematosus section of Arthritis and musculoskeletal disorders. In LM Tierney et al., eds., Current Medical Diagnosis and Treatment, 44th ed., pp. 807-811. New York: McGraw-Hill.

3. Schur PH (2004). Systemic lupus erythematosus. In L Goldman, D Ausiello, eds., Cecil Textbook of Medicine, 22nd ed., vol. 2, pp. 1660-1670. Philadelphia: Saunders.