The first-ever World Lupus Day observance will occur on Monday, May 10, 2004, to coincide with the 7th International Congress on Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) and Related Conditions. World Lupus Day will focus on the need for improved patient healthcare service, increased research into the causes of and a cure for lupus, enhanced physician diagnosis and treatment of lupus, and better epidemiological data on lupus globally.

Lupus is three times more common in black women than in white women. It is also more common in women of Hispanic/Latina, Asian, and American Indian descent. Black and Hispanic/Latina women tend to develop symptoms at an earlier age than other women. African Americans have more severe organ problems, especially with their kidneys. Between 1979 and 1998, death rates from SLE increased nearly 70% among black women between the ages of 45 and 64 years. Possible reasons include an increasing incidence of SLE, later diagnosis, less access to health care, less-effective treatments, and poorer compliance with treatment recommendations.  Each year during the study period, death rates were more than five times higher for women than for men and more than three times higher for blacks than for whites.