Pattern of systemic lupus erythematosus in NIGERIA: a multicentre descriptive hospital-based study

Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune inflammatory disease with manifestations ranging from mild to life-threatening organ dysfunction. There is wide variability in the reported incidence and prevalence rate globally, particularly in low and middle-income countries. Nigeria had very few isolated reports of SLE from private and public hospitals Therefore, we conducted this large multi-center descriptive study to determine the sociodemographic, clinical profile, laboratory patterns, and treatment among Nigerian lupus patients.

A retrospective hospital-based study of all SLE patients seen over 4 years (January 2017 to December 2020) was conducted at 20 rheumatology clinics spread across the 6 geopolitical zones of Nigeria. All patients 18 years and above satisfying the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) 1997 and/or the Systemic Lupus International Collaboration Clinics (SLICC) 2012 classification criteria for SLE were enrolled. Patients with other Rheumatic and Musculoskeletal Diseases (RMDs) not in keeping with SLE and Patients with incomplete data were excluded. Data was analysed using SPSS version 23.0 software.

A total of 896 patients with SLE were included in the final analysis with a mean age ± SD of 34.47 ± 11 and a female to male ratio of 8.1:1. Synovitis was reported by 61.6% of patients, while 51%, 19.9% and11.4% patients reported acute, sub-acute and chronic lupus rashes respectively. ANA was positive in 98.0% with titers ranging from 1:80 to 1:64,000.

SLE is not rare in Nigeria. Most patients were female in their 3rd to 4th decades of life. There is a delayed presentation to a rheumatology facility. Arthritis and mucocutaneous manifestations were the most frequent presentation. Key Points •This study presents the first national data on SLE in Nigeria •This study showed that SLE is not rare in Nigeria in contrast to previous reports •There appear to be ethnic disparity in the frequency of lupus among Nigerians •Nigerians with lupus have very high titer of ANA.