title: SLE in a United States-Mexico border community.
abstract: This report describes the results of a clinic-based study conducted to verify a community-reported excess prevalence of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and a possible connection between ethnicity and environmental factors in the reporting of SLE in the United States-Mexico border town of Nogales, Arizona. A community group in Nogales reported 37 cases of SLE in its community, suggesting a prevalence rate of 200 per 100,000. This report describes 19 definite and 7 probable cases of SLE using the 1982 American College of Rheumatology criteria. All definite and probable cases were self-identified, Mexican-American females. This yields a prevalence rate of 94 per 100,000, among the highest reported to date. The majority of cases resided within 3 miles of the United States-Mexico border and within 1 mile of the polluted Nogales Wash or ground wells with documented toxins. It remains to be determined whether this confirms that SLE is more common in Mexican-Americans or whether environmental factors, especially pollutants, are predominantly responsible. In addition to the need to be aware about the apparent increased risk of SLE in many Latin-Americans, clinicians should ask about possible environmental factors.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona 85723, USA.
authors.forename: B T
authors.initials: BT
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pope
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Reid
authors.forename: E P
authors.initials: EP
authors.lastname: Gall
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Yocum
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Clark