An infection, whether viral, bacterial, or other, may can use a systemic flare. Bodily injury or surgery may be the cause. Some people feel that stress, overexertion, exhausting, nervous tension and emotional upsets can also trigger a flare. Some medications have been implicated in lupus flares, but it may be difficult to tell whether the disease or illness for which the drug is prescribed or the drug itself caused the flare. SLE affects women nine times more frequently than men.
All ages are affected, bu lupus most commonly strikes women of childbearing years.
Lupus is also more common in Blacks, Asians, and certain Indian tribes than in Whites. About 16,000 new cases of SLE are diagnosed each year. Although the exact cause of lupus is unknown, some people appear to have genes which influence the immune system and predispose them to develop this disease. It's hard for them too understand because you don't look sick. It's something everyone has problems understanding.