A new study has discovered that one in six patients suffering from systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) must be readmitted to the hospital within 30 days of initially being discharged.

According to Jinoos Yazdany, M.D., M.P.H. from the Division of Rheumatology at the University of California, San Francisco and colleagues, SLE patients have the sixth highest hospital readmission rate among all health conditions in the United States.

Lupus is a chronic autoimmune disease that damages any part of the body, including joints, skin, and even organs. Lupus patients are unable to effectively fight off germs, bacteria and diseases the way others with a healthy immune system can.

The study involved 55,936 hospitalizations, with 31,903 lupus patients readmitted between the years 2008 and 2009. The researchers found that 17 percent of the lupus patients readmitted had done so within 30 days of discharge.

“SLE patients have one of the highest hospital readmission rates compared to those with other chronic illnesses. Our study is the first large-scale examination of early readmissions following hospitalization due to SLE,” said Yazdany in a statement.

The researchers also discovered that hospital readmissions for lupus were more frequent among the black and Hispanic demographics. It was concluded that an improvement for quality efforts in treating lupus patients is required.

The findings of the study are published in Arthritis & Rheumatology, a journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR).