From 1968 through 1976, adjusted annual rates of death from systemic lupus erythematosus, based on National Center for Health Statistics data from the 12 states with most (88%) of the Asian population, were higher for Chinese, Japanese, and Filipinos than for whites in the United States. These Asian subgroups had a combined average annual mortality rate significantly higher than that of whites whether Hawaii was included (6.8/million for Asians versus 2.8 for whites) or excluded (6.0 versus 2.8).