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A New Free Report - What Is Lupus?
This fascinating new report from UK-based publishing house Health Research Today answers some of the most-asked questions about this baffling disease :
- What is the medical definition of lupus?
- What are the symptoms of lupus?
- What tests are there for lupus? How do you get a diagnosis?
Fill in this form and we will send you the report immediately, which you are welcome to send on to friends or family!
Who Gets Lupus?
This article is an extract from the ebook Freedom From Lupus!
Age Factors
There are four types of SLE in regards to age - neonatal, lupus in childhood, lupus in adolescence, and older-age onset - that represent only 15 percent of all lupus patients. The remainder of lupus patients falls between 20 and 60 years of age.
Childhood Onset
Between 5,000 and 10,000 children in the U.S. have lupus. When doctors look at the disease under a microscope it looks like adult lupus. Lupus is still more common in females, but it occurs more often in boys (20 to 40 percent) than in men.
Approximately 80 percent of childhood onset lupus patients develop organ-threatening conditions. While only 30 to 40 percent of adult onset patients have kidney disease, over 70 percent of childhood onset patients have it. Still, childhood onset lupus is easier to diagnose, as on average it takes 3 months compared to adult onset taking 1 to 2 years. The difficulty for childhood onset patients is in finding pediatric rheumatologists. There are only a few hundred of these doctors in the U.S.
Adolescent Onset
While the adolescent onset of lupus has the same clinical manifestations as adult onset, but there are different psychological considerations when it comes to adolescents. Teenagers are notorious for not taking their medications and being lackadaisical regarding care and follow-up. Many of the medications they need to take cause fluid retention, acne, facial hair, bruising, and a puffy face that most teens want to avoid.
Social problems are common for teenage patients, as they have to avoid the normal social situations like being in the sun. They may suffer from embarrassing skin rashes, hair loss, swollen joints and fatigue that make coping with the disease much harder for this age group. Most doctors are unprepared for dealing with the social and psychological issues surrounding lupus.
Elderly Lupus Patients
For long-term lupus patients entering their older years, they are actually a relief from symptoms. Lupus tends to "burn-out" and after menopause there are few flares or symptoms.
However, some elderly patients experience lupus for the first time. Most often it is drug-induced lupus that occurs this late, yet it can take up to three years to diagnose DILE. Also, many other diseases mimic lupus symptoms and can produce positive ANA tests, inflammation, stiffness, and aching. Still, less than 70 percent of all SLE occurs after age 70, and lupus related deaths during this life stage are very rare.
Read the rest of this article in Freedom From Lupus!
© Health Research Today
