New research suggests Asian and Hispanic patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) have lower mortality rates when compared with Black, White, or Native American individuals.
Patients with lupus have an overactive immune system that attacks both the joints and organs, a news release reported.
"While previous research has examined racial differences among lupus patients, the studies have primarily been based at academic research centers," said lead author Dr. Jose A. Gomez-Puerta. "Our study investigates the variation in death rates due to lupus among different ethnic groups in a general clinical setting."
The researchers looked at Medicaid claims from 47 U.S. states and Washington, D.C. that were filed between 2000 and 2006. The researchers pinpointed patients between the ages of 18 and 65, who were enrolled for three or more months and had three or more claims for lupus.
The study's results showed that out of 42,221 lupus patients 8,191 had lupus nephritis. The racial breakdown of patients with lupus nephritis was 40 percent Black, 38 percent White, 15 percent Hispanic, 5 percent Asian, and 2 percent Native American. The annual mortality rate for those with lupus per 1,000 person-years was highest in Native Americans, amounting to a total of 27.52. Additionally, there were 23.13 deaths among Blacks, 20.17 among Whites while those of Asian of Hispanic descent had much fewer annual deaths.
"In less than three years of follow-up of Medicaid patients with lupus we found a great disparity in mortality rates among ethnic groups. Understanding the variation of death among the races is important to determine how best to treat individual patients, modify risk factors, and ultimately improve survival for those with lupus," Gomez-Puerta concluded.
The findings were published in a recent edition of the journal Arthritis & Rheumatology.
