Lupus

Lupus (systemic lupus erythematosus, or SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease in which the immune system attacks healthy tissue throughout the body, causing inflammation and damage to joints, skin, kidneys, heart, lungs, blood vessels, and brain.

Black women are three times more likely to develop lupus than white women, and their disease course is typically more severe. Black women with lupus experience higher rates of kidney involvement, cardiovascular complications, and mortality.

Common symptoms include the "butterfly rash" across the cheeks and nose, fatigue, joint pain, fever, hair loss, mouth sores, chest pain, and sensitivity to sunlight. Diagnosis can take years because symptoms mimic other diseases.