Prevalence of juvenile systemic lupus erythematosus in Colombia: An approach from the national health registry data.

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic, systemic, autoimmune disease of multifactorial origin. There are no previous studies in Colombia describing juvenile SLE (jSLE) prevalence, prompting this demographic description. This study aimed for prevalence calculation and epidemiologic analysis of jSLE) in Colombian patients, ages 0-19, from 2015 to 2019. This descriptive, cross-sectional study searched the Colombian Ministry of Health database for codes of the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) associated with jSLE to estimate the disease prevalence for the total population and for specific age groups at national and regional levels. Calculations used intercensal estimates of population based on the projections of the national statistics administrative department (DANE) from the most recent census. This paper presents a sociodemographic analysis of patients with jSLE. The study identified in Colombia, from 2015 to 2019, 3680 cases with jSLE as the principal diagnosis. Calculated prevalence of jSLE was 25 cases per 100,000 population, with highest frequency in ages 15-19 and females (84%), with a female:male ratio of 5.1:1. Estimated prevalence of jSLE in Colombia is at the highest limit of worldwide findings. Consistent with reports in the literature, the disease involves females more frequently than males.