Clinical analysis of late-onset systemic lupus erythematosus in Xinjiang

Abstract

Objective To assess the clinical characteristics of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in the elderly in Xinjiang. Methods As a retrospective study, clinical date and laboratory test results were collected from 87 elderly SLE patients and 222 non-elderly SLE patients (age <50 years)hospitalized in the People's Hospital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from January 2006 to July 2016. Results The female to maleratio was 5.7∶1.0 in the older-onset SLE group and the female to male ratio was 11.3∶1.0 in the younger-onset SLE group.Of the 13 patients with predisposing factors in the older-onset SLE group(14.9%), 11 had infection (12.6%), whereas the 27 patients with predisposing factors in the younger-onset SLE group (12.2%)had pregnancy, abortion or insolation, in addition to infection.Arthritis(63.2%), weakness(40.2%), malar rashes(36.8%), anorexia(26.4%), and shortness of breath(26.4%) were common clinical manifestations in the older-onset SLE group.The incidence of anorexia in the older-onset SLE group was higher than that in the younger-onset SLE group(P<0.01), while the incidence of trichomadesis was lower in the older-onset SLE group than that in the younger-onset SLE group(P<0.01); Aminotransferase elevation, creatinine elevation and thrombocytopenia were more common in the older-onset SLE group than in the younger SLE group (P<0.05). Lower rates of positive anti-Smanti body and anti-Acl antibody were found in the older-onset SLE group, compared with the younger-onset SLE group (P<0.05); Han older-onset SLE patients showed higher rates of oral ulcers than older-onset SLE patients of Uygur, Kazak or other ethnic minorities (P<0.05). There were no significant differences between Han and Uygur/Kazak patients in laboratory test results. Conclusions The proportion of male SLE patients in the elderly is higher than that in non-elderly SLE patients in Xinjiang.Also, elderly SLE patients are prone to oral ulcers but often do not show typical early clinical symptoms and have low levels of specific antibodies.Therefore, clinicians should pay particular attention to older-onset SLE patients in order to reduce the rates of misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis. Key words: Lupus erythematosus; systemic