ABSTRACT
AIM: To determine if there are ethnic differences in the prevalence of antiphospholipid syndrome (APS), clinical presentation and autoantibody profile between Roma and Caucasian patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHOD: A cross-sectional study was conducted including data from Roma and Caucasian SLE patients consecutively attending six hospitals in Spain. Socio-demographic characteristics, prevalence of APS, clinical and analytical features of SLE and APS were compared between ethnic groups. RESULTS: Data from 52 Roma and 98 Caucasian SLE patients were included. Roma SLE patients had a higher risk (odds ratio 2.56, 95% CI 1.02-6.39) and prevalence of APS (28.8% vs. 13.3%, P = 0.027). Furthermore, Roma SLE patients had a statistically significant higher prevalence of abortions (23.5% vs. 10.2%, P = 0.049). In relation to other APS diagnostic criteria, Roma SLE patients had a non-statistically significant higher prevalence of fetal deaths (14.3% vs. 5.1%, P = 0.106) and thrombotic events (21.1% vs. 12.2%, P = 0.160). In relation to SLE clinical features, Roma patients had a significantly higher prevalence of arthritis (75% vs. 57.1%, P = 0.034) and non-significant higher prevalence of serositis (44.2% vs. 29.6%, P = 0.104), discoid lesions (11.5% vs. 5.1%, P = 0.191), oral ulcers (46.1% vs. 34.7%, P = 0.218) and livedo reticularis (21.1% vs. 15.3%, P = 0.374). No statistically significant differences were found in the Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics Damage Index or the autoimmune serological profile. CONCLUSION: Prevalence and risk of APS were significantly higher in Roma SLE patients. Furthermore, Roma patients had a significantly higher prevalence of abortions and a non-significant higher prevalence of fetal deaths and thrombotic events.
