Lupus has genetic factors but environmental risks may determine whether someone gets the disease. People of African, Asian, and Hispanic descent are more likely to develop lupus, suggesting genetic origins. Genetics is only a partial factor in determining who gets the disease and environmental conditions can also have an effect. Some types of lupus tend to run more frequently in families, especially among female siblings. It’s important to evaluate which environmental factors are helpful in preventing the disease.
Lupus is a systemic autoimmune disease that has some genetic factors. It’s also linked to environmental risk, which may determine whether people actually ever get the disease. These environmental factors may also play a role in the degree to which lupus can affect a person’s life and mortality. Therefore, while some people may have a genetic predisposition for the disease, not everyone with genetic factors will get it.
People of African descent are more likely to develop lupus, and it affects three to four times as many African-Americans as Caucasians in the United States. It is also more common among people of Asian and Hispanic descent. This factor alone suggests the genetic origins of the disease, especially when relatively small groups of people appear to have it on a more regular basis.
A 1997 National Institute of Health study evaluated a form of lupus that causes a high rate of morbidity due to deterioration of the kidneys. The research group examined was an African American population. One specific gene was found to be most indicative of lupus involving the kidneys, also called lupus nephritis. In almost all cases of those studied with the condition, a specific gene was shown to be a weaker version of the one present in participants who did not have lupus.
Some of those who didn’t have lupus nephritis also had the weaker gene. This finding suggests that genetics is only a partial factor in determining who gets the disease. Environmental conditions can also have some effect.
Some types of lupus tend to run more frequently in families. This is especially true among female sisters. However, even with extensive studies, scientists cannot conclude positively that the condition is “genetic” and that a person will get lupus if others in their family have it. However, a 2002 study published in The Annals of Rheumatic Disease concludes that genetics play at least some part in the development of the disease.
Because not all people with a genetic predisposition to lupus get the condition, it’s important to evaluate which environmental factors are helpful in preventing the disease. Although some genes have been studied as factors in lupus, other genes that have not been identified may be involved. Researchers often find that there may be several genes responsible for a single condition. These genes may also help determine the extent to which environment and genetics are factors in the development of lupus.
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