To evaluate disease characteristics of childhood onset SLE in Latin America and to compare this information with an adult population in the same cohort of GLADEL. A protocol was designed as a multicenter, multinational, inception cohort of lupus patients to evaluate demographic, clinical, laboratory and serological variables, as well as classification criteria, disease activity, organ damage and mortality. Descriptive statistics, chi square, Fisher's exact test, Student's t test and multiple logistic regression were used to compare childhood and adult onset SLE. 230 patients were <18 years and 884 were adult SLE patients. Malar rash, fever, oral ulcers, thrombocytopenia and hemolytic anemia and some neurologic manifestations were more prevalent in children (p<0.05). On the other hand, myalgias, Sjögren's syndrome and cranial nerve involvement were more frequently seen in adults (p<0.05). Afro-Latin-American children had a higher prevalence of fever, thrombocytopenia and hemolytic anemia. White and mestizo children had a higher prevalence of malar rash. Mestizo children had a higher prevalence of cerebrovascular disease and cranial nerve involvement. Children met SLE ACR criteria earlier with higher mean values than adults (p: 0.001). They also had higher disease activity scores (p: 0.01), whereas adults had greater disease damage (p: 0.02). In Latin America, childhood onset SLE seems to be a more severe disease than adults. Some differences can be detected among ethnic groups.

Objective To examine the role of place of residency in the expression and outcomes of SLE in a multi-ethnic Latin American cohort. Patients and Methods SLE patients (<2 years of diagnosis) from 34 centers constitute this cohort. Residency was dichotomized into rural and urban, cut-off: 10,000 inhabitants. Socio-demographic, clinical/laboratory, and mortality rates were compared between them using descriptive tests. The influence of place of residency on disease activity at diagnosis and renal disease was examined by multivariable regression analyses. Results 122 (8.6%) of 1426 patients were rural residents. Their median age (onset, diagnosis) were 23.5 and 25.5 years; 85 (69.7%) patients were Mestizos, 28 (22.9%) Caucasians and 9 (7.4%) African-Latin Americans. Rural residents were more frequently younger at diagnosis, Mestizo and uninsured; they also had fewer years of education and a lower socioeconomic status, exhibited hypertension and renal disease more frequently, and had higher levels of disease activity at diagnosis; they used methotrexate, cyclophosphamide pulses, and hemodialysis more frequently than urban patients. Disease activity over time, renal damage, overall damage and the proportion of deceased patients were comparable in both, rural and urban patients.. In multivariable analyses, rural residency was associated with high levels of disease activity at diagnosis (OR 1.65, 95% CI 1.06–2.57) and renal disease occurrence (OR 1.77, 95% CI 1.00–3.11). Conclusions Rural residency associates with Mestizo ethnicity, lower socioeconomic status, and renal disease occurrence. It also plays a role on disease activity at diagnosis and kidney involvement but not on the other end-points examined.