In a study involving the medical records of 330 lupus patients over 20 years, researchers recently discovered that the presence of anti-SM anitbodies, often specific to lupus, increased the risk of death in systemic lupus erythematosus in those ethnic groups studied.
The study was published in the March 2007 issue of Lupus and was conducted in Manitoba, Canada. It included the three largest ethnic groups in the region: Caucasians, First Nations (native Canadians) and Asian.
Researchers found several differences in the ethnic groups, including the fact that all groups other than Caucasians had high rates of kidney disease and neurologic involvement with their lupus as well as higher frequencies of anti-SM antibodies.
The most important finding of the study, however, was the correlation between the number of anti-SM antibodies and increased risk of death, regardless of ethnic differences.
The researchers relied on self-reporting of ethnicity, which is not always accurate. The study population did not include lupus patients of African or Hispanic descent, also noted as a limitation of the study.
Source:
Lupus, Volume 16, Number 3, March 2007, pp. 186-194.
