ETHNIC-DIFFERENCES IN THE CLINICAL EXPRESSION OF SYSTEMIC LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS - A COMPARATIVE-STUDY BETWEEN AFRICAN-AMERICANS AND LATIN-AMERICANS

Since ethnic differences in the disease expression of systemic lupus e rythematosus (SLE) have been recognized, we compared the clinical and serological features in two different ethnic groups of patients with S LE. The study population consisted of 222 African-American and 300 Lat in American (Colombian) SLE patients. Clinical, demographic, and labor atory data were obtained by chart review using a standard data collect ion form. African-American patients more commonly manifested discoid s kin lesions, pulmonary fibrosis, and pleuritis, and less commonly mani fested photosensitivity, livedo reticularis, and vascular thrombosis t han did Latin Americans. In addition, there was a higher frequency of anti-Sm, anti-RNP, and anti-Re positivity among African-American patie nts compared with Latin Americans. These results are additional eviden ce for the presence of ethnic differences in the clinical expression o f SLE.