PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Paivi M Miettunen
AU  - Oliva Ortiz-Alvarez
AU  - Ross E Petty
AU  - Rolando Cimaz
AU  - Peter N Malleson
AU  - David A Cabral
AU  - Stephanie Ensworth
AU  - Lori B Tucker
TI  - Gender and ethnic origin have no effect on longterm outcome of childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus.
DP  - 2004 Aug 01
TA  - The Journal of Rheumatology
PG  - 1650--1654
VI  - 31
IP  - 8
4099  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/31/8/1650.short
4100  - http://www.jrheum.org/content/31/8/1650.full
SO  - J Rheumatol2004 Aug 01; 31
AB  - OBJECTIVE: To investigate the associations of gender and ethnic origin with longterm outcome in childhood-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS: The study cohort consisted of 51 patients (13 males and 38 females) with childhood-onset SLE followed for > or = 5 years at the British Columbia Children's Hospital in Vancouver. Fifteen patients were Caucasian, 14 Chinese, 9 East Indian, and 13 patients were of other ethnic backgrounds: none was African-American or Hispanic. Outcome measures assessed retrospectively included Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index score (SDI), SLE-related death, need for dialysis or renal transplantation, and use of intensive immunosuppressive therapy. A SDI > or = 2 was assigned as poor outcome. RESULTS: The median age at diagnosis was 10.8 years and the median duration of followup was 7.2 years. Five-year survival was 100%; 10-year survival was 85.7% (12/14 patients). The median SDI score at last followup was 2.0 (range 0-9); 2.0 for male, 1.5 for female; 2.0 for Caucasian and 2.03 for non-Caucasian patients. Twenty-six out of 51 patients (51%) had poor outcome (SDI score > 2). Three female patients required dialysis: 2 had subsequent renal transplants. Thirty patients received intensive immunosuppressive therapy. The SDI scores, mortality, and need for intensive immunosuppressive therapy were not influenced by either gender or ethnic origin. CONCLUSION: The median SDI score was high for this cohort with childhood-onset SLE. In contrast to other published data, no association of male gender and/or non-Caucasian ethnicity with poor outcome was found in our study cohort.