White patients more likely to die from lupus
White patients are more likely to die from lupus compared to their Asian and Hispanic counterparts, a new study finds.
Lupus is an autoimmune disease that causes joint and organ damage. Autoimmune disorders mean the body’s immune system attacks healthy body tissue by mistake, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
“While previous research has examined racial differences amonglupus patients, the studies have primarily been based at academic research centers,” said lead author Dr. Jose Gomez-Puerta, of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. “Our study investigates the variation in death rates due to lupus among different ethnic groups in a general clinical setting.”
Researchers reviewed Medicaid claims filed by more than 42,200 lupus patients, aged 18 to 65, between 2000 and 2006. Of those patients, nearly 8,200 had kidney inflammation caused by lupus (lupus nephritis).
By racial/ethnic group, the percentages of patients with lupus or lupus nephritis were: black, 40 percent; white, 38 percent; Hispanic, 15 percent; Asian, 5 percent; and Native American, 2 percent.
Category: Features, Health alert
