SLE in Indian Men: Analysis of the Clinical and Laboratory Features with a Review of the Literature

Abstract

Data on the clinical and laboratory profile of 39 male lupus patients has been analysed. An attempt has been made to (1) delineate the pattern of SLE in Indian males, (2) compare it with that reported in the world literature, (3) find out differences, if any, between male children and adults with the disease, and (4) compare it with our previously published data on Indian females with SLE. Several important points were brought out in this study. First, SLE in Indian males has an earlier age of disease onset, a higher incidence of mucocutaneous and renal involvement and a lower incidence of neuropsychiatric, gastrointestinal and hematological disease in comparison to those published from the developed countries. Second, leucopenia and lymphopenia, a reflection of disease severity, occur significantly more in male children compared with adults. Thrombocytopenia is exclusively noted in adult males and virtually non-existent in children. Third, male patients overall have a less severe form of the disease in comparison with their female counterpart, as was evident by significantly less patients with hypocomplementemia, diffuse proliferative lupus nephritis and psychosis. Finally, a higher frequency of infection, particularly tuberculosis, was seen in male patients, which was the cause of death in some.