SYSTEMIC LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS IN DENMARK - CLINICAL AND EPIDEMIOLOGIC CHARACTERIZATION OF A COUNTY-BASED COHORT

A population based cohort of patients with systemic lupus erythematosu s (SLE) was recruited from a for epidemiological purposes representati ve Danish region. Patients were ascertained from 4 different sources w ith a high deg-re of completeness as estimated by using capture-recapt ure analysis. The diagnosis was verified by means of case records, pat ient interviews, and clinical examinations. Patients were classified a ccording to the 1982 revised ACR criteria as Definite SLE (D-SLE) fulf illing greater than or equal to 4 criteria and Incomplete SLE II-SLE) with <4 criteria. As of January 1, 1995, the point prevalences of D-SL E and I-SLE were 21.7 and 5.2 per 100 000 respectively. The cohort com prised 98% white Europeans. The annual incidence of D-SLE increased fr om 1.0/100 000 to 3.6/100 000 during the study period 1980-94. D-SLE p atients had clinical profiles comparable to other Western European stu dy populations. The I-SLE subclass had milder disease manifested by lo wer criterial load and absence of cerebral and kidney involvement. Tis sue and organ damage expressed as SLICC-score increased in the order o f live I-SLE, live D-SLE, and deceased patients.