Revista clínica española
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Revista clínica española · Aug 1995
Comparative Study[Clinical and serological manifestations of 307 Spanish patients with systemic lupus erythematosus. Comparison with other ethnic groups].
There is evidence suggesting that clinical manifestations and severity in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are associated with age, sex and ethnicity. The influence of genetic factors, particularly HLA antigens, on disease expression is revealed by the diversity of clinical conditions in patients from different ethnic groups. The aim of this work was to analyze the impact of demographic factors on SLE expression in the Spanish population. ⋯ Patients older than 50 had a higher frequency of pleuropericarditis, but without renal involvement. Our ethnic group expressed a disease with a severity similar to that observed in north-european caucasians, higher than in north-american caucasians and lower than in south-american caucasians, asiatic and africans. In conclusion, patients with SLE from the south-european ethnic groups express a clinical picture with characteristics and severity similar to those observed in europeans from other latitudes and different from those reported in other ethnic groups.