90% of cases of lupus occur in women – 02/03/2023 – Health

The confectioner Camila Maia, 33, from São Paulo, started having the first symptoms of lupus at the age of 19. She came to the emergency room with jaundice, swollen feet and intense itching on her body and was admitted for the first time. Doctors said it was nephritis, inflammation of the kidneys. The correct diagnosis came out five years later.

Women are the most affected by systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) —90% of cases. The disease is autoimmune, chronic, incurable and difficult to diagnose, because there is no specific exam. Therefore, the person can take up to six years to discover the disease.

Nacife Costa, president of the São Paulo Society of Rheumatology, explains that lupus does not have a specific cause, but several factors. One of them is hormones. “Estrogen plays an important role. It predominates in the reproductive phase. But it can compromise children and also after 60”, he says.

According to the expert, there are other associated factors, such as smoking, stress and sun exposure.

Data from studies on lupus, from different countries, point out that from 15 to 45 years old, the disease affects 9 to 14 women for every man; before the age of 15, the ratio is 3 women for every man; after 50, from 3 to 8 women for every man.

Camila Maia survived 11 hospitalizations and lost count of how many times she had to run to an emergency room. “Nowadays, I deal well with the disease. I tamed it,” she says.

The red spots on her face and neck, pain, swelling, weight gain and hair loss made the baker ashamed to leave the house and led to episodes of prejudice in public transportation and at college.

“I had spots on my face, but the biggest prejudice was when my face was completely swollen and I was unrecognizable. I’ve always been vain and suddenly I saw my face like that. If you don’t have emotional support from family and friends, everything is fine. it gets harder,” he says.

Camila is in remission. She is married and mother of Marina, 2.

Camila’s story is in the documentary “Sentindo na Pele”, produced by the pharmaceutical company Astrazeneca in partnership with the Centro Universitário Belas Artes de São Paulo. The film, which features reports of women living with lupus, was released this Thursday (2nd), at Cinépolis at the JK Iguatemi shopping mall, in São Paulo.

In addition to skin rashes, symptoms are fatigue, fever, pain when breathing, swelling, redness, joint pain and difficulty carrying out ordinary activities are among the symptoms of lupus. Memory loss at some point is present in 80% of cases.

The disease can affect several organs and systems and cause joint, neurological, cardiovascular, pulmonary, psychiatric and renal manifestations. Lupus nephritis is common among patients. About half of patients with SLE may have renal involvement over the course of the disease.

“We have to be diplomatic in recognizing and treating the disease; diplomatic with those in front of us, we have to understand the particularity of each one, what is the most important manifestation, the impact on life with lupus so that we can act with greater tranquility” , says Edgard Reis, associate professor of rheumatology at Unifesp and coordinator of the Lupus Commission of the Brazilian Society of Rheumatology.

Worldwide, according to estimates, 3.5 million people have lupus. In Brazil, there are studies in Natal (RN) —8.7 patients per 100,000 inhabitants per year— and in Montes Claros (MG) —98 patients per 100,000 inhabitants.

understand lupus

What is it?

• autoimmune inflammatory disease — when the immune system attacks the body
• Can affect multiple organs and tissues, such as the skin, joints, kidneys, and brain
• No cure, unknown cause and can kill, in severe cases
• Fatigue, pain, swelling or redness in the joints (arthritis), fever and rash are the main symptoms

triggers

• Inadequate exposure to sunlight
• infections
• Use of medications such as antibiotics and drugs used to control seizures and also for high blood pressure

Impact
International entities estimate that 55% of patients are unable to work full time and 65% point to chronic pain as the most difficult symptom to deal with