Abstract
Background: It has been proven that a family history of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a risk factor for the development of the disease, and the risk increases with increasing number of relatives affected. In Saudi Arabia, high consanguinity rate leads to higher incidence of familial form than in other countries. We compare the percentage of familial versus sporadic SLE among Saudi patients. The second aim of the present study is to compare clinical characteristics between the two forms of the disease. Methods: This cross-sectional study includes 47 female patients whom are selected and investigated through three phases. We have added additional two categories of relatives, based on unconventional definition. We have examined and compared demographic characteristics of the patients with familial and sporadic SLE. We have also compared the percentage of familial vs. sporadic lupus and clinical characteristics of the two forms. Results: All the patients are females, aged between 18 and 43 years. The highest percentage of patients resides in the central region of Saudi Arabia (34%). The origin of the big family or tribe also most commonly occurs in the central region (34%). Data analysis results in 27.7% of patients with familial form of SLE. Sporadic form is found in 72.3% of patients. Consanguinity between patients’ parents is noticed in both familial form (61.5%) and sporadic form (58.8%). Clinical manifestations are similar between patients with familial and sporadic form. Conclusion: Our results show a high percentage of familial lupus among Saudi patients. More research is required in order to estimate the inheritance pattern of familial SLE and involvement of genetic and environmental factors.
Highlights
Investigation of epidemiological features of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has always been a great challenge
The highest percentage of patients resided in the central region of Saudi Arabia 16 (34%) at the time of the study, while the lowest number of patients were located in the northern region 3 (6.4%) (Table 1)
The data analysis resulted in 13 (27.7%) patients with at least one 1st, 2nd, or 3rd degree relative diagnosed with SLE which we assigned to Category A (Table 2)
Summary
Investigation of epidemiological features of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) has always been a great challenge. A study conducted in Al-Qaseem region of Saudi Arabia showed prevalence of SLE of 19.28 per 100,000 people [2]. There were studies showing both higher [3] and lower [4] prevalence of SLE in Saudi Arabia compared to developed countries. It has been proven that family history of SLE is a risk factor for the development of the disease, and the risk increases with increasing number of relatives affected [6]. It has been proven that a family history of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a risk factor for the development of the disease, and the risk increases with increasing number of relatives affected. We have compared the percentage of familial vs sporadic lupus and clinical characteristics of the two forms. More research is required in order to estimate the inheritance pattern of familial SLE and involvement of genetic and environmental factors
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