Systemic lupus erythematosus in Hispanics

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a serious autoimmune disease that causes significant morbidity and mortality. It is also a disease for which several clinical differences among ethnic groups have been documented. Until recently, Hispanics, as separate patient cohort, had not been included in these studies. As a result, there is currently little information concerning its characteristics both at the clinical and at the molecular levels. With the currently available data, we can ascertain that this population exhibits considerable heterogeneity, in which some genetic mutations have been detected that may confer greater susceptibility and/or protection against the disease. The important differences in the clinical manifestations include a higher rate of renal complications as well as greater mortality. The latter may be due, at least in part, to lower socio-economic levels and inappropriate access to health care. However, given the limited data available that have focused on potential molecular mechanisms that may affect the Hispanic population affected with lupus, we cannot conclude that all the differences in disease outcome, complications, and severity that affect this patient population may be due to sociological factors. We conclude that more research is required to evaluate potential genetic and molecular factors that affect Hispanic lupus patients.