Lupus Health Center

Environmental Reason for Lupus?

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In a study published last May, Helmick and colleagues reported that women are five times more likely to die of lupus than men, and that the number of African American women who die from the disease has increased by 70% over the last two decades.

But Helmick tells WebMD that it is unclear whether more women are actually dying or whether the increase is due to better diagnosis.

"We need to develop a better understanding about just how many people have lupus so that we will know what these figures mean," he says. "A population registry would help us figure out what is going on throughout the United States."