Atopic Diseases and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus: An Epidemiological Study of the Risks and Correlations

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Yu-Ping Hsiao²  Jeng-Dau Tsai²  Chih-Hsin Muo⁴  Chung-Hung Tsai²  Fung-Chang Sung⁴  Ya-Tang Liao³  Yen-Jung Chang¹ 

[1] Department of Health Promotion and Health Education, National Taiwan Normal University, Taipei 106, Taiwan;Institute of Medicine, School of Medicine, Chung Shan Medical University, Taichung 402, Taiwan; E-Mails:;Management Office for Health Data, China Medical University Hospital, Taichung 404, Taiwan; E-Mail:;Institute of Clinical Medical Science, China Medical University College of Medicine, Taichung 404, Taiwan; E-Mails:

关键词: systemic lupus erythematosus;    atopic disease;    case-control study;    insurance data;    Taiwan;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph110808112

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Both atopic diseases and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) are immune disorders that may lead to physical complications or multi-system comorbidities. This population-based case-control study was designed to evaluate the risk of SLE associated with atopic diseases. Using a national insurance claims dataset in Taiwan, we identified 1673 patients newly diagnosed with SLE and 6692 randomly selected controls frequency matched for gender, age and index date. The odds ratios (OR) for SLE were calculated for associations with allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis and asthma. The SLE patients were predominantly female (82.5%) with a mean age of 40.1 (SD = 18.2). The patients with SLE had a higher rate of atopic dermatitis (6.81% vs. 3.06%), and asthma (10.6% vs. 7.64%) was approximately 2 times more common in the patients with lupus than in those without. The patients with atopic disease (atopic dermatitis, allergic rhinitis, allergic conjunctivitis and asthma) were at a significant risk for SLE. The overall risk for SLE increased as the number of atopic diseases increased from 1.46 to 2.29, compared with—individuals without the diseases (p < 0.0001). In conclusion, this population-based case-control study demonstrates a significant relationship between atopic diseases and the risk of SLE, especially for females. Atopic dermatitis plays a stronger role than other types of atopic disease in association with SLE.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.