Systemic lupus life expectancy for person suffering from this chronic, potentially fatal autoimmune disease has been dependent on many factors including kind and effective treatment regimen, condition of patient’s immune system, affected organ of the patient and the degree of severity of this usually life long disease.
Lupus is characterized by unpredictable exacerbation as well as remissions with different clinical manifestations. Because of this there is high involvement of vital organs such as kidneys, heart, brain, skin and lungs.
The prognosis for persons with systemic lupus or SLE has significantly improved over the years. About 80 to 90 percent of the patients has survived for ten years. The improvement in systemic lupus life expectancy has been attributed to developments or advancement in healthcare including treatment procedures.
These include the introduction of the latest immunosuppressives that has more efficacy to toxicity, more reliable antibiotics and antihypertensives, dialysis as well as the specialized care given to persons with SLE.
Systemic lupus is said to be prevalent amongst women in their child bearing years although most has been diagnosed in the extremes of life such as those in infants and those in their tenth decade of life. In the United States, the prevalence rate has been estimated to be about 500,00 but based on a telephone survey organized by the Lupus Foundation of America, actual prevalence rate is as many as 2,000,000.
Majority of SLE patients who religiously comply with a reliable treatment regimen can expect a nearly normal life while being conscious of their diet, stress and weight. The proper exercise routine and positive stress management can surely help in extending life span since most lupus patients have a higher and earlier rate of atherosclerosis and are at even higher risk of cardiovascular diseases.
A person with systemic lupus and whose spleen or kidney is affected may just live for a pretty short time. However, lupus that develops later in life is considered less serious than those who develop it in their childhood or young adulthood. Early effective and aggressive treatment of the disease is still the key for lupus patients to survive for a long time.