Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease with often unpredictable periods of remission and flare-ups. Symptoms are different for everyone, and they can affect just about every part of the body. During a flare, these symptoms increase or intensify. New symptoms may appear, and your treatment plan may need reevaluation.
Many things can trigger a lupus flare-up. If you have lupus, learning what your triggers are is important. Some are avoidable; some are not. But knowing when a flare-up is coming can help you manage it better.
Stress has not only been shown to be associated with the onset of autoimmune diseases like lupus, but it is also related to flare-ups. One small study on people with lupus found that more than 60 percent reported stress as a trigger, but this seems to vary depending on race and ethnicity.
In the same study, 85 percent of white patients reported stress as a cause for flare-ups compared to only 50 percent of black participants and 45.5 percent of Asian participants.
Stress and trauma are different and the body responds to each differently but both can cause flare-ups of lupus and other autoimmune diseases. One study showed that any traumatic event, excluding illness, doubled the odds of a lupus flare-up.
About 90 percent of people with lupus are women, and many of them experience flare-ups due to fluctuations in hormones. Hormonal changes throughout a woman's menstrual cycle, pregnancy, and menopause can all lead to flare-ups.
Between 45 and 70 percent of women have flare-ups during pregnancy. Menstruation can cause symptoms to worsen, and hormonal birth control and hormone replacement therapy are associated with increased risks of flare-ups. Conversely, during menopause, when hormones like estrogen decrease, most women experience fewer, less severe flare-ups.
Flare-ups can result from infections because, like lupus, an infection affects the immune system.
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