Black people are eight times more likely than white people to be admitted to hospital with lupus, NHS figures show, with experts saying the “stark” inequality could be a result of delayed diagnoses.
The hospital admission rate in England for black patients with a primary diagnosis of lupus was 62.6 per 100,000 people in 2023-24, while there were 7.8 admissions per 100,000 for white people. Asian patients also had an increased rate of hospitalisation, with 26 admissions per 100,000.
