Epidemiology of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus

Abstract

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a severe autoimmune rheumatic disease of unclear etiology that affects people worldwide. SLE presents with a wide spectrum of clinical patterns and can affect people of all ages and ethnicities. Regardless of age at disease onset, the diagnosis relies upon a combination of clinical and laboratory findings which are dealt with in greater detail in other sections of the book. According to the most recent revision of the literature, incidence rates of SLE range from approximately 1 to 10 per 100,000 person-years, and prevalence rates generally range from 20 to 70 per 100,000. Even if SLE occurs throughout the world, many variables such as ethnicity, geography, sex, and age affect the epidemiology of SLE. In this chapter we aim to critically review the epidemiology of SLE.