The epidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus in Iran: a survey on 2143 cases

• Main Authors: Akbarian M, Faezi ST, Gharibdoost F, Shahram F, Nadji A, Jamshidi AR, Akhlaghi M, Shafaee N, Akhlaghkhah M, Davatchi F
• Format: Article
• Language: fas
• Published: Tehran University of Medical Sciences 2010-08-01
• Series: Tehran University Medical Journal
• Subjects: SLE; clinical manifestation; epidemiology; Iran
• Online Access: http://journals.tums.ac.ir/PdfMed.aspx?pdf_med=/upload_files/pdf/16450.pdf&manuscript_id=16450

"nBackground: Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) is a prototypic autoimmune disease with diverse clinical manifestations in association with autoantibodies to components of the cell nucleus. SLE as a chronic autoimmune disease has a worldwide distribution. There is a wide variation in the natural history of SLE among different ethnic and geographic groups. Our SLE registry is one of the largest series in Asia-Pacific region. The aim of this study was to show the manifestations of SLE in Iranian patients. "n"nMethods: This study is on clinical and Para clinical manifestations of SLE according to the database of the Rheumatology Research Center (RRC), Tehran University of Medical Sciences as a major referral center for rheumatic disease in Iran during the period of 1976 to 2009. "n"nResults: A total of 2143 SLE patients were studied. The female to the male ratio was 8.8:1 and the mean age at the presentation was 24.2± 10 Years. Prevalence of clinical manifestations included: musculoskeletal, cutaneous, renal, neuropsychiatric, pulmonary, cardiac and hematologic were 85.2%, 83.1%, 66.6%, 24%, 22.3%, 17.5% and 67.1% respectively. There were seen positive FANA in 78.3% and anti-DNA in 70% of patients. Overlap syndrome and positive family history with other autoimmune diseases were detected in 14.9% and 3.4% of patients respectively. "n"nConclusion: The prevalence of some manifestations (such as cutaneous and renal involvement) in our patients were similar to those of nearby countries (with similar climate), while other manifestations (such as hematologic and joint involvement) were similar to the European countries (with similar ethnicity). Genetic and/or climatic factors may lead to different presentations of lupus.