Late-onset systemic lupus erythematosus: characteristics and outcome in comparison to juvenile- and adult-onset patients—a multicenter retrospective cohort

Introduction The aim of this study was to investigate the characteristics and outcome of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) among elderly-onset patients. Methods This study included 575 SLE patients managed at Cairo, Alexandria, and Helwan universities from August 2014 to 2018: of whom 49 (8.5%), 420 (73%), and 106 (18.4%) were elderly- (> 50 years), adult- (17–50 years), and juvenile- (≤ 16 years) onset patients, respectively. Cumulative characteristics were recorded. Disease activity at the last visit was investigated through the Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index-2K (SLEDAI-2K), whereby lupus low disease activity (LLDA) was defined as a SLEDAI-2K score ≤ 4. The disease outcome was assessed through investigating disease damage (Systemic Lupus International Collaborating Clinics/American College of Rheumatology Damage Index (SDI)) and the prevalence of mortality. Quantitative and categorical data were compared using Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney tests, and chi-square ( χ 2 ) test, respectively. Results Late-onset SLE (LSLE) patients demonstrated the lowest prevalence of constitutional and mucocutaneous manifestations ( p