Report Confirms Lupus Is Significant Health Issue For Women 6/4/2002
From: Duane Peters of the Lupus Foundation of America, 301-670-9292, ext. 17; E-mail: peters@lupus.org WASHINGTON, June 4 -- The Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau recently issued a report entitled "Women's Health USA 2002." The report lists lupus as a leading cause of morbidity among women. The HRSA report follows a study released last month by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that showed a 60 percent increase in deaths over a twenty-year period resulting from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). The CDC report also revealed that women were five times more likely to die from complications of lupus than were men. Sandra Raymond, President and CEO of the Lupus Foundation of America (LFA) issued the following statement in response to the HRSA Report. "The HRSA report confirms that lupus is a significant health issue for women in the United States. Unfortunately, federal funding for lupus-related medical research, public awareness, and professional education programs remains low in proportion to the disease's impact on society. Lupus deserves a coordinated and comprehensive response by the federal government. "We still do not know what causes lupus, and no new therapies have been approved in several decades to treat the disease. Current funding for medical research on lupus is insufficient to properly study a disease that is so diverse and complex." The LFA has urged the Congress to adopt its three-pronged program to: -- Provide greatly increased funds for the National Institutes of Health to expand lupus-related research efforts across all relevant institutes. -- Establish a Federal Working Group on Lupus to coordinate activities of federal agencies and departments as they relate to lupus. -- Establish a National Lupus Patient Registry to conduct epidemiological and burden-of-illness studies to determine the overall prevalence of the disease and its cost to society. The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that at least 1.4 million Americans have a form of lupus. Nine of ten cases of lupus are among women, with the highest prevalence among women of color. African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and Native Americans are two or three times more likely to develop lupus than are Caucasian women. Lupus causes the immune system to attack the body's own cells. Common symptoms of lupus include achy or swollen joints, fevers, fatigue, and skin rashes. The Lupus Foundation of America is the nation's leading non-profit voluntary health organization dedicated to lupus, with more than 50 chapters and hundreds of community-based support groups located throughout the United States. The LFA seeks to improve the diagnosis and treatment of lupus, support individuals and families affected by the disease, increase awareness of lupus among health professionals and the public, and find the cure. LFA Web site: http://www.lupus.org HRSA report available at http://mchb.hrsa.gov/data/women.htm |