Top 10 Takeaways From Our Lupus Survey Results

Lupus is a systemic autoimmune disease that appears when the body’s immune system attacks its tissues and organs. Inflammation caused by lupus can damage parts of the body including the joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart, and lungs.

Human Health Project strives to collect data on conditions such as lupus to provide individuals with information on their condition and help compare treatment options. From our Shared Patient Information survey results we’ve concluded top takeaways about lupus from what causes it to symptoms and treatments.

Below are results collected from our Shared Patient Information.

Take the survey today.

Causes

1. 50% of people claim no food or beverages bring on or makes any lupus symptoms worse.
   1. The highest category of food or beverage that does trigger symptoms is alcoholic beverages at 25%.
2. Stress causes lupus symptoms to flare up for 79% of people.

Symptoms

1. There is a vast range of severity in symptoms.
   1. 45% of people have severe fatigue.  
   2. High blood pressure is severe for 42% of people.
   3. Joint pain is severe for 52% of people and joint stiffness is severe for 48% of people.
   4. 44% of people note severe skin rashes.
   5. 67% of people said renal (kidney) disease or renal failure is extreme.
   6. 50% have severe weight gain.

View the severity of other symptoms such as depression or headaches.

1. 27% of people first experienced symptoms of lupus between the ages of 25-34.
2. 65% of people have experienced lupus symptoms for more than three years.

Treatment

1. Without using any treatment, lupus symptoms last for more than one week for 60%.
   1. Meanwhile, only 38% notice lupus symptoms lasting for more than one week after using treatment of choice.
2. The most tried natural/alternative treatment for lupus is Vitamin D at 54%.

See what else people have tried as natural/alternative treatments.

1. 58% of people take prescription drugs on a regular basis aside from lupus medication.

Demographics

1. 55% of people from our survey who have lupus also have other health conditions.
   1. 40% said their general health was poor in the last month prior to taking our survey.
   2. In contrast, 43% claim their general health was good in the last month prior to taking our survey.
2. 23% of the population from our survey are from the UK, 19% are from the US.
   1. 59% of people from our survey are white/caucasian or non-hispanic white.
   2. 33% of people taking the survey are between the ages of 25-34.
   3. 78% of people who’ve taken the survey are female.

Join the Human Health Project community to gain full access to our survey results.