Pattern and clinical phenotype of systemic lupus erythematosus among male patients: Hospital‐based study

Background Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disease of unknown aetiology. SLE is mostly considered a disease of women, though men may also be affected, and this may lead to a delay in diagnosis in men. The result is a greater burden of inflammation and subsequent organ damage over time. This study aims to assess the pattern, clinical phenotype and organ damage in male patients with SLE. Methods A descriptive cross‐sectional study enrolled 30 male SLE patients in Omdurman Military Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan, during the period of December 2019 to May 2020. Data were collected by designated questioner containing demographics, age at diagnosis, clinical manifestations at onset and during the disease course and immunological assays. The data were analyzed by Statistical Package for Social Studies Program. Results The mean age of 35.7 years ranged and the mean age at diagnosis was 32 years, and a third of the patients were found in the age group (30–39 years). The origin distribution showed that 50% of the patients were from central areas, and most of the patients were university graduates, the mean SLE duration was 5 years. Constitutional symptoms were the major manifestation at the onset of SLE in 56.7% of the patients. SLE manifestations during the course of the disease were mainly musculoskeletal manifestations in 87.7% of patients. Conclusion The mean duration of the disease is 5 years, and the mean age of the patients is in the middle of their thirties, the constitutional symptoms were the major manifestation and musculoskeletal manifestations came second to that and almost all of them have positive antinuclear antibodies and anti‐dsDNA. In the antibodies profile of male SLE patients in Omdurman Military Hospital (N = 30), all the patients have positive antinuclear antibodies, more than half have positive anti‐DNA and only 3% of them have proliferating cell nuclear antigen.