This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (11) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Vilar, M J P. Articles by Sato, E I Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Vilar, M J P. Articles by Sato, E I Social Bookmarking                   What's this?

Estimating the incidence of systemic lupus erythematosus in a tropical region (Natal, Brazil)

Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, Brazil; Rua Jundiaí, 702 Tirol, CEP-59020-220 Natal, RN, Brazil vilarmj{at}ufrnet.br

E I Sato

Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil

The objective of the study was to evaluate the incidence of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) in a tropical urban community (Natal city, Brazil). Only patients living in Natal, a city in the northeastern area of Brazil, older than 15 years, and who fulfilled at least four of the American College of Rheumatology criteria between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2000, were included. Four sources were used to identify new cases of SLE: (1) the University Hospital; (2) ‘health units’ and hospitals of the public health network; (3) specialists at private hospitals and outpatient clinics; and (4) three laboratories performing antinuclear antibody (ANA) determination. Census data from 2000 for Brazilian population was used to calculate incidence rate. The standardized mortality ratio (SMR) method and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were calculated.

Forty-three patients were diagnosed as new SLE cases in 2000. The calculated incidence was 8.7/100 000/year (95% CI 6.3–11.7). Thirty-eight patients were female 14.1/100000/year (95% CI 10.0–19.3) and five were male 2.2/100 000/year (95% CI 0.7–5.2). The mean age of new SLE cases was 31.8 years old. (95% CI 27.8–35.8). The mean age for females was 31.4 and for males was 35.0 years old. The median of disease duration (time between onset of the first ACR criterion for SLE and diagnosis) was 10 months (1–72 months).

This study demonstrated a high incidence of SLE in Natal, apparently higher than reported in other places. The mean age at diagnosis seems lower than referred by other studies. The observed differences may be due to ethnic and/or environmental factors.

Key Words: Brazil • epidemiology • incidence • systemic lupus erythematosus

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. D Azevedo, R. G N Gadelha, and M. J. Vilar Metabolic syndrome in systemic lupus erythematosus: lower prevalence in Brazil than in the USA Ann Rheum Dis, November 1, 2007; 66(11): 1542 - 1542. [Full Text] [PDF]

				M A Garcia, J C Marcos, A I Marcos, B A Pons-Estel, D Wojdyla, A Arturi, J C Babini, L J Catoggio, and D Alarcon-Segovia Male systemic lupus erythematosus in a Latin-American inception cohort of 1214 patients Lupus, December 1, 2005; 14(12): 938 - 946. [Abstract] [PDF]

				P Lopez, L Mozo, C Gutierrez, and A Suarez Epidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus in a northern Spanish population: gender and age influence on immunological features Lupus, November 1, 2003; 12(11): 860 - 865. [Abstract] [PDF]