June is Men's Health Month and the Lupus Foundation of America is using this observance to emphasize that lupus can affect males and females of all ages. While most people with lupus are female, males can have more sudden onset of the disease. Families that have more than one person with lupus tend to have more severe forms of the disease if one of the family members with lupus is male.
The female to male ratio for lupus changes with age leading researchers to believe that hormones play some role in lupus. However, hormones alone are only a small factor with regard to determining a person's susceptibility to lupus.
Supported researcher Dr. Bruce Richardson, Professor of Medicine at the University of Michigan, is looking for Genetic clues about the origins of lupus in men including genetic and environmental factors.