The latest global epidemiological data on systemic lupus erythematosus: the incidence of Chinese group ranks fourth in the world

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease characterized by the presence of autoantibodies that presents clinically diverse and can affect one or more organs
.
According to the "2020 Chinese Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Systemic Lupus Erythematosus", the prevalence of SLE varies greatly in regions, the global prevalence of SLE is 0~241/100,000, the prevalence of Chinese mainland is about 30~70/100,000, and the ratio of male to female is 1:10~12
.
However, epidemiological data for SLE actually vary
widely globally due to differences in study design, environmental exposures, and location and characteristics of the population surveyed, including race, sex, and age.

In order to provide comprehensive, concise, objective, less biased and standardized SLE epidemiological data to help improve patient management, Professor Qianjin Lu (corresponding author) of the Institute of Dermatology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, and his collaborators used the gold standard model for the first time to include 112 studies that met the criteria to estimate the global incidence and prevalence of SLE using the gold standard model
.
The findings were published on October 14 in Ann Rheum Dis.
, a top journal in the field of rheumatology (impact factor 27.
973).

1.
The global incidence is 5.
14 per 100,000 person-years

The global incidence of SLE is estimated to be 5.
14 (1.
4 to 15.
13) per 100,000 per year, with a new diagnosis of 400,000
per year.
Geographically, the incidence of SLE in the general population ranged from 1.
18 (0.
16-3.
68) per 100,000 000 people per year in Central Asia to 13.
74 (3.
2-31.
82) per 100,000 per year in Central Europe (Figure 1).

Figure 1 Global incidence of SLE

2.
The global prevalence of SLE is 43.
7 per 100,000 people

In terms of prevalence, the estimated global prevalence of SLE is 43.
7 (15.
87-108.
92) per 100,000 people, with 3.
41 million
people affected.
The prevalence of SLE is highest in the United Arab Emirates, Barbados and Brazil, and lowest in Argentina
.

3.
The incidence of SLE in China ranks fourth

Among the countries covered, China had the fourth estimated incidence of SLE at 8.
57 (8.
37 to 8.
77 per 100,000 people) per year, followed by Poland (81.
84 [80.
33 to 83.
51] per 100,000 per year), the United States (12.
13 [11.
94 to 12.
35] per 100,000 per year) and Barbados (10.
37 [2.
01 to 36.
46] per 100,000 per year).

In contrast, Kazakhstan has the lowest incidence of SLE in the world (0.
57 [0.
17 to 1.
24] per 100,000 population) per year.

The estimated prevalence of SLE in China is 47.
53 (47.
15-47.
96) per 100,000 people, with approximately 700,000
patients.

4.
Women are more likely to develop SLE than men

The incidence of SLE is estimated to be 8.
82 (2.
4 to 25.
99) per 100,000 per year in women and 03,400 new cases per year, compared with lower values in men at 1.
53 (0.
41 to 4.
46) per 100,000 and 0.
6 06 000 per
year, respectively.
The countries with the highest incidence of SLE in women are Poland, the United States, Arabia and Barbados
.
The countries with the highest number of new SLE diagnoses in women are China (106,610 [104214-109161] per year), India, the United States, and Poland
.

The prevalence of SLE and the affected population among women were 78.
73 (28.
61-196.
33 people)/100,000 and 3.
04 million, respectively.
Among men, 9.
26 (3.
36-22.
97) per 100,000 and 0.
36 million
.
The four countries with the largest number of female and male SLE patients were China (622526 [616988-628178]; 76677 [75631-77816]), Brazil, the United States, and Indonesia
.

This study systematically reviewed and analyzed all available SLE epidemiological studies published over the past 30 years to establish a statistical disease model
of SLE.
Estimates, studies and interpretations of global and country-specific epidemics and affected populations provide additional insight into disease patterns in SLE and provide the basis for population-based studies in developing countries, ultimately helping to reduce the burden
of disease.

References: Tian J, Zhang D, Yao X, et al.
Global epidemiology of systemic lupus erythematosus: a comprehensive systematic analysis and modelling study[J].
Ann Rheum Dis.
2022 Oct 14:ard-2022-223035.
doi: 10.
1136/ard-2022-223035.
Epub ahead of print.
PMID: 36241363.