A Shameful American Fact: Enormous Racial Disparities In Death Rates From Lupus
I recently came across a disturbing picture. I know that life in America is unfair. That access to medical care is uneven. That the chance of living a long life is often heavily influenced by socioeconomic disparities. But this figure still astonished me. It shows mortality for people suffering from Systemic Lupus Erythematosus, better known simply as lupus.
Lupus is systemic: it strikes practically every part of the body.
It is an autoimmune disorder: people’s own immune systems attack their vital organs.
It is chronic: people diagnosed with lupus generally require lifelong treatment with powerful and expensive immunosuppressants (medicines that dampen their immune systems).
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