FREQUENCY OF SYSTEMIC LUPUS-ERYTHEMATOSUS IN DIFFERENT ETHNIC-GROUPS IN HAWAII

A survey of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) patients was conducted in civilian general hospitals on Oahu, Hawaii for the years 1970–75. One hundred sixty‐eight cases were ascertained, of which 107 were considered “definite.” Age‐adjusted prevalence rates per 100,000 were estimated for definite cases at the end of 1975 as follows: white 5.8, Chinese 24.1, Filipino 19.9, part‐Hawaiian 20.4, and Japanese 18.2. There was a heavy preponderance of females in each ethnic group, averaging 90% of the definite cases overall. Review of vital statistics for the United States and Hawaii during this period showed age‐adjusted SLE mortality rates per million as follows: U.S. white 3.04, U.S. non‐white 8.82, Hawaii white 1.89, Hawaii non‐white 14.46. The cause of the very high SLE prevalence and mortality in the Oriental and Polynesian people of Hawaii is not clear. Copyright © 1979 American College of Rheumatology