title: Clinical expression and morbidity of systemic lupus erythematosus during a post-diagnostic 5-year follow-up: a male:female comparison.
abstract: The aim of this study was to analyse the prevalence of the most relevant clinical features of the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in a sample of male patients with lupus as well as the incidence of the main causes of morbidity in a 5-year period after the diagnosis. A further aim of this study was to investigate the impact of gender on expression and morbidity of SLE. Data were collected from the medical records of 59 male and 535 female patients with SLE who were diagnosed at the hospitals in the region of Thessaloniki. Several differences in the expression and morbidity of the disease were found in relation to the gender of the patient. Male patients had a higher prevalence of thromboses, nephropathy, strokes, gastrointestinal tract symptoms and antiphospholipid syndrome when compared with female patients, but tended to present less often with arthralgia, hair loss, Raynaud's phenomenon and photosensitivity as the initial clinical manifestations. During the 5-year follow-up, positive associations have been found between male gender and the incidence of tendonitis, myositis, nephropathy and infections, particularly of the respiratory tract. In conclusion, this study has provided information regarding the features of clinical expression and morbidity in male patients, and has shown that gender is a possible factor that can influence the clinical expression of SLE.
authors.affiliation: 4th Department of Internal Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Hippocratio Hospital, Thessaloniki, Greece.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Stefanidou
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benos
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Galanopoulou
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chatziyannis
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Kanakoudi
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Aslanidis
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Boura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sfetsios
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Settas
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Katsounaros
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Papadopoulou
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Giamalis
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Dombros
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chatzistilianou
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Garyfallos
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005767:Gastrointestinal Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D008171:Lung Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D008180:Lupus Erythematosus, Systemic / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D020945:Lupus Vasculitis, Central Nervous System / Q000209:etiology; D008206:Lymphatic Diseases / Q000209:etiology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D013927:Thrombosis / Q000209:etiology; D055815:Young Adult