Why Lupus Disproportionately Affects Women and the Breakthroughs Changing the Future

What do Selena Gomez, Shannon Boxx, and Nara Smith have in common? The singer-actor, Olympic medalist, and TikTok influencer each bravely live with lupus. The Lupus Foundation of America estimates that 1.5 million Americans, and at least five million people worldwide, have a form of lupus. Lupus strikes mostly women of childbearing age as 90% of people living with lupus are women.

Why Women?

Autoimmune diseases, including lupus, disproportionately affect women and new research from Stanford University helps explain why. Women have two X chromosomes, but one is supposed to be “turned off” to prevent overload. Sometimes, this process doesn’t fully work. When that happens, unusual molecular structures form, and the immune system mistakenly sees them as threats, which can trigger autoimmune conditions like lupus. 

What Is Lupus?

Lupus is an autoimmune disease where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks its own tissues and organs. Chronic inflammation from lupus can affect:

• Joints
• Skin
• Kidneys
• Blood cells
• Brain
• Heart
• Lungs
  

Diagnosis can be challenging because lupus looks like so many other chronic conditions. Model and influencer Nara Smith went years without answers, enduring flare-ups and misdiagnoses until finally her journey took her across the globe for answers: :

“After two years of struggling and over analyzing everything I put in and on my body I had the biggest flareup which lead to a severe infection”

“I booked a ticket to Germany in the hopes of finding answers… all the results indicated: Lupus.”

A Pressing Need for Better Lupus Care  

For many, lupus treatments help—but they’re not enough. Patients still live with fatigue, pain, and sometimes organ damage even while following their care plans.

Selena Gomez has shared this reality openly. In September 2017, she revealed through Instagram that she had undergone a kidney transplant, a direct result of lupus complications.

In her 2022 documentary My Mind & Me, she described the daily toll lupus still takes: 

“In the morning when I wake up, I immediately start crying because it just hurts, like… everything.”

Her words capture the truth many patients face and highlight why new breakthroughs in lupus research are so exciting.

2025 Breakthroughs in Lupus Care

1. CAR T-Cell Therapy – Teaching the Immune System to “Unlearn” Lupus

Doctors took immune cells from patients, reprogrammed them in the lab, and put them back into the body. These new cells hunted down the bad immune cells causing lupus. In a small study, patients who got this treatment had no lupus flare-ups for nearly two years, a potentially life changing result.

2. Obinutuzumab – Protecting Kidneys from Damage

Kidneys are one of the organs most at risk with lupus. Obinutuzumab, a type of antibody treatment, helps block destructive immune cells from attacking the kidneys. In a 2025 clinical trial, patients had much better kidney function after one year compared to standard treatment.

3. Faster Diagnosis – Cutting the Wait from 7 Years to 1 (Progentec Diagnostics)

One of the biggest challenges with lupus is just getting diagnosed. On average, it takes 5–7 years of bouncing between doctors. Now, Progentec Diagnostics has unveiled PROACTIVE™, a digital program that slashes that timeline by about 80%, identifying lupus in just over one year.

Why Advocacy Matters 

While there are exciting breakthroughs in lupus diagnosis and treatment on the horizon, there is still so much work to be done. This is why advocates like Shannon Boxx are critical in helping to drive awareness and support fellow women living with lupus. 

Shannon is an Olympic gold-medalist and professional soccer player, who was diagnosed with lupus in 2007. As an athlete she encourages others to listen to their bodies and shows the lupus community what is possible. 

“If people can see that I’m playing soccer while dealing with all of these symptoms and stressors, it gives hope that you can stay active while living with lupus.” 

“I now have this tremendous opportunity, and I want to talk about overcoming obstacles, my journey, and how I made it where I am today… Most importantly, I want to promote awareness about lupus, so that we can find a cure.”

Selena, Shannon, and Nara are Chronic Bosses who exemplify living loudly, bravely, and authentically with lupus. Their stories bring visibility, resilience, and hope to a disease too many still misunderstand. And with inspiring breakthroughs, science is now catching up with advocacy ,bringing hope for a better future for those living with lupus. 

By Isabella Cardona