Early Diagnosis and Treatment of Lupus Essential in Racial/Ethnic Populations

A study published last month in Arthritis Care & Research shows that racial/ethnic minorities disproportionately have more severe cases of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). In this slideshow, we summarize the findings.Although there were a number of limitations associated with study, such as incomplete medical records in some cases, the analysis demonstrates some obvious differences in terms of the severity of disease and clinical manifestations among black, Hispanic and Asian patients. However, in factoring the findings, the authors accounted for risk factors including sex, age at diagnosis and disease duration.The authors of the study suggest some solutions, but the editors of Rheumatology Network woud like to know your thoughts as a healthcare provider. If you have recommendations for improving the  gap in healthcare outcomes described in this study, please share them with us by emailing the editor.See related article:  "Lupus is More Severe in Racial/Ethnic Minorities" REFERENCEManingding E, Dall’Era M, Turpin L, Murphy L, Yazdany J, Racial/Ethnic Differences in Prevalence of and Time to Onset of SLE Manifestations: The California Lupus Surveillance Project (CLSP), Arthritis Care & Research (2019), doi: 10.1002/acr.23887