Clinical and autoantibody profile in male and female patients with systemic lupus erythematosus: A retrospective study in 603 Brazilian patients

Objective: Sex and ethnic background may influence the clinical and autoantibody profile in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This retrospective study aimed to compare the clinical and autoantibody profiles of male and female patients with SLE in a sample of Brazilian patients. Methods: This was a retrospective study of 603 patients ( 48 males and 555 females) from a single rheumatology center. Collected clinical data included clinical findings according to the definition of 2012 Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics classification criteria, the presence of antiphospholipid antibody syndrome according to the Sydney classification criteria and autoantibody profile (anti-dsDNA, anti-Ro, anti-La, anti-Sm, anti-RNP, rheumatoid factor, anticardiolipin [aCl] IgG, aCl IgM, lupus anticoagulant, and direct antiglobulin test), and histological results of kidney biopsies. Results: It was found that females had higher age at disease onset (p=0.02), more oral ulcers (p=0.001), and presented more often with alopecia (p<0.0001) than males. Males had a higher prevalence of glomerulonephritis (OR=6.5; 95% CI=3.0-13.7) and anti-dsDNA (OR=2.59; 95% CI=1.38-4.85) than females, but no differences were found in the pattern of renal biopsies (p=0.46). Conclusion: In this sample of Brazilian patients, the males had more renal involvement, fewer oral ulcers, and presented fewer times with alopecia than females.