Rising cases of lupus in summer a major concern: Doctors
NEW DELHI: Doctors at the nation’s premier healthcare institution, the All India Institute of Medical Science, have revealed that one percent of every rheumatology outpatient-department (OPD) suffers from lupus, a serious autoimmune disease which intensifies during the summer.
The doctors said that there is a flare up in cases of lupus in summer, with patients developing rashes over their faces and suffering from photo sensitivity.
On the occasion of World Lupus Day on Wednesday, doctors said that people are unaware of even the basic factors that trigger lupus, resulting in deformity and irreversible organ damage. Moreover, the state of ongoing inflammation in the body leads to premature atherosclerosis, hypertension, coronary artery disease and cerebrovascular accidents which reduce lifespan. AIIMS has thus sought the inclusion of lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease, in the Union Health Ministry’s list of Non-communicable Diseases (NCDS), so that the government’s focus on the disease increases, similar to others in the list.
“Our NCD list is very old and needs a review. There is an urgent need to add lupus in the list, so that the government’s focus on the disease increases and programmes to raise awareness are launched across the country,” said Dr Uma Kumar, Head of Rheumatology Department, AIIMS. According to Dr Kumar, there is little awareness on lupus among general public globally. Moreover, the World Health Organisation (WHO) – which monitors prevalence of chronic diseases, like diabetes mellitus, heart diseases and cancer, in developing countries through step-wise surveillance programmes – is yet to make a mention of lupus.
“The price of medicines for lupus, which now is comparatively high, can be subsidised if the governments wants,” Kumar told Millennium Post.
An estimated 50 lakh people worldwide have lupus, which occurs more often in women. Lupus can damage any organ, be it the skin, kidneys, heart, etc.
Though the exact cause of lupus is not documented, factors that jointly contribute to occurrence of the disease are ultraviolet rays, air pollution, genetic issues, biomarkers and environment, among others.
Dr Kumar stated that in most serious cases, lupus can land a patient into an emergency situation, with fever, joint pain or swelling, skin rashes, overwhelming fatigue, excessive hair fall, photosensitivity, breathlessness and pregnancyrelated complications.
She added that if after going out in the hot sun one develops rashes over their face, they should consult a specialist at the earliest.
Other symptoms depend on the type of organ involvement. If the nervous system is involved, for instance, there could be convulsions, neuropathy, paralysis etc.
Doctors at AIIMS have sought the inclusion of lupus, a chronic autoimmune disease, in the Health Ministry’s list of Non-communicable Diseases, so that the government’s focus on the disease increases