How Long Can Lupus Nephritis Sufferers Live

One of my friends is newly diagnosed with lupus nephritis. The whole family is panic. They are more concerned about how long she can live with lupus nephritis.
Each person shows great concern on the life span of their lives or what the life is like with lupus nephritis. In terms of the former, there is no straight answer or exact number to account for the lifespan. There are many factors that influence the impact of illness on quality of life and lifespan, such as the condition itself, treatment, and psychosocial factors.

Lupus nephritis is a kidney disorder which is caused by system lupus erythematosus (SLE). SLE is an autoimmune disease, meaning the body can not distinguish the harmful substances from the good ones and then it attack and destroy healthy tissue, causing inflammation, pain, and damage in various parts of the body.

So, besides the kidney involvement, lupus can affect heart, lungs, gastrointestinal system, skin and others. Especially, the heart damage threatens the life of lupus patients.

High blood pressure plays an important role on the progress of kidney disease. Tight control of blood pressure helps to slow down the deterioration of kidney function. Thus, it is very important to make blood pressure within the normal range.

End-stage renal failure resulting from lupus nephritis will shorten the lifespan. Despite the prescribed treatment, some people with lupus nephritis do have progressive loss of kidney function. In the case of complete failure of both kidneys, dialysis, and eventually kidney transplant will be required.


If you are one of lupus nephritis sufferers and have not developed ESRD, do everything to avoid dialysis or kidney transplant. Here is a recommended treatment for lupus nephritis which may help you.