Table of Contents
Risk Factors
Gender
About 90% of lupus patients are women, most diagnosed when they are in their childbearing years. Hormones may be an explanation. After menopause, women are only 2.5 times as likely as men to contract SLE. Flares also become somewhat less common after menopause in women who have chronic SLE.
Age
Most people develop SLE between the ages of 15 - 44. About 15% of people who are eventually diagnosed with lupus develop symptoms before age 18.
Race and Ethnicity
African-Americans are three to four times more likely to develop the disease than Caucasians and to have severe complications. Hispanics and Asians are also more susceptible to the disease.
Family History
A family history plays a strong role in SLE. A brother or sister of a patient with the disorder has 20 times the risk as someone without an immediate family member with SLE.
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Review Date: 02/18/2011
Reviewed By: Harvey Simon, MD, Editor-in-Chief, Associate Professor of Medicine,
Harvard Medical School; Physician, Massachusetts General Hospital.
Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M.,
Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
