Two cases of very elderly onset male lupus patient; the characteristics and sex differences of elderly onset systemic lupus erythematosus patients

Abstract

Elderly-onset systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is rare and difficulties are associated with reaching a diagnosis of SLE in elderly patients because of comorbidities and the lack of the typical clinical features of SLE. We herein report two cases of very elderly onset SLE in males: an 82-year-old male with arthritis and 83-year-old male with serositis. A review of the literature revealed common characteristics among elderly onset SLE patients, such as milder serological findings, less skin involvement, and more severe serositis and arthritis with high mortality. Data obtained from 81 patients (including 19 elderly onset) revealed that skin rashes were less frequent in elderly onset male SLE patients. In contrast, more severe thrombocytopenia, lower complement levels, and higher dsDNA antibody titres were observed in elderly onset female SLE patients. In conclusion, several clinical characteristics were identified in elderly onset female and male SLE patients, and sex differences were noted in these characteristics.

Keywords:

• Age
• sex difference
• systemic lupus erythematosus

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Funding

None.

Conflict of interest

K.Y. received financial support or fees from AbbVie, Astellas, BMS, Daiichi-Sankyo, MitsubishiTanabe, Pfizer, Sanofi, Santen, Takeda, Teijin., Boehringer Ingelheim, Chugai, Eisai, Ono, Taisho Toyama, UCB., ImmunoFuture, Asahi Kasei, and Janssen. K.F. received financial support or fees from Astellas, BMS, Daiichi-Sankyo, MitsubishiTanabe, Pfizer, Santen, Takeda, Chugai, Eisai, Taisho Toyama and UCB., and Janssen. All other authors declare no competing financial interests.

Additional information

Funding

K.Y. received financial support or fees from AbbVie, Astellas, BMS, Daiichi-Sankyo, MitsubishiTanabe, Pfizer, Sanofi, Santen, Takeda, Teijin., Boehringer Ingelheim, Chugai, Eisai, Ono, Taisho Toyama,UCB., ImmunoFuture, Asahi Kasei, and Janssen. K.F. received financial support or fees from Astellas, BMS, Daiichi-Sankyo, MitsubishiTanabe, Pfizer, Santen, Takeda, Chugai, Eisai, Taisho Toyama and UCB., and Janssen. All other authors declare no competing financial interests.